Human Experiment
by LunaeShark
Summary: Starscream, Skywarp and Thundercracker are bored waiting for orders. What better way to pass time than studying those oh-so-squishy creatures sharing the planet with them? Unless of course the squishy in question has her own plans... Rated T to be safe.
1. Boredom

Been working on this story for...probably close to a year now, if you count the long stretches where I didn't even think about it. However, my muse has been leaning more toward this fic lately, and finally convinced me to post the first chapter today.

Please note - I am writing this completely for fun. I will do my best to keep characters in character, but don't sic Ravage on me if they seem OOC at times. Everything I know about Spywarp and Thundercracker (and any other mechs/femmes not in the live-action movies) has been gleaned from fanfics and the few cartoons (mainly G1) that I have managed to get my hands on.

Those of you who are following _Revealing Secrets_, don't worry, I'm still working on it, and will not neglect either fic for the other.

Last but not least, the DISCLAIMERS! I do _not_ own Transformers. Also, any similarities between this fic and another are purely coincidental - I do NOT plagiarize and frown upon those who do. Any OCs _are_ mine, and my permission is needed if you wish to include any of them in one of your fics.

Review and constructive criticism are welcome, flames will be doused by Inferno. Thanks for reading!

KEY:

"Speech."

_Thoughts._

_"Internal comm."_

EDIT:_ Corrected 22/12/2010 - I'd forgotten to replace the scene-dividing asterisks with lines, since FFN refuses to show the asterisks.  
_

* * *

Chapter One

Boredom

"I'm bored," Skywarp whined for the thousandth time in the past five minutes.

Starscream resisted the growing urge to bring the datapad he was holding down on his companion's head. "Find something to do."

"You banned all the fun stuff."

"Megatron issued _orders_ to lie low. Surely there's something you could do that won't have him or the Autobots trying to offline us."

Skywarp hissed in frustration. "At least I'm not sitting around base, letting my wings rust from disuse."

A sweep of an arm sent the smaller Seeker flying across the room. Rubbing the dent on his head, Skywarp flinched as two flaming red optics filled his vision.

"_Don't_ mention that again," growled Starscream before stalking out.

Deciding it would be safer to put some distance between himself and Starscream, at least until the silver mech calmed down, Skywarp warped into Thundercracker's office.

The blue Seeker looked up, then shook his head. "I know that look, Skywarp. You better not antagonize Starscream right now."

"_Now_ you tell me. All he does is mope."

A silver hand clamped down on Skywarp's shoulder. "Perhaps I should strip _your_ wings down to their struts."

Skywarp hadn't expected Starscream would visit Thundercracker, but he overcame his surprise quickly and warped away before Starscream could carry out his threat.

Starscream's claws closed on empty air; he clenched them into a fist and glared at Thundercracker. "Well? You must have _some_ idea by now regarding why my wings still haven't repaired."

"We need more energon," replied the blue mech with a shrug, a human habit he'd picked up from television shows. Starscream had given up trying to stop his brothers from watching broadcasts a while back, but he still got annoyed when they started acting like they were squishies. He let the gesture pass this time; their energon supply was a more urgent matter.

"I thought Skywarp found some a few days ago."

"Not nearly enough for three mechs, especially when one is-" Thundercracker broke off and shrugged again. "We need more than what Skywarp can find."

"Seekers can find anything," Starscream said dryly. "Right?"

"Then you better send Skywarp to find a medic, because without extra energon, your wings will never heal, and Skywarp hasn't found any new deposits since the last."

The silver mech snarled. "He isn't looking hard enough."

"His scanners - and mine - are inferior to yours, Lord Starscream."

That was true. Starscream had always been the one who found energon deposits, until now. "Stop calling me that and have him search further north."

"Too close to the Arctic Circle and he could offline as Megatron did."

"Tell him to be careful," snapped Starscream. "Must I do all the thinking around here?"

Thundercracker shook his head, watching his brother walk out. The silver mech's temper grew worse every day, and part of Thundercracker didn't blame him. Seekers were born to fly; being unable to would soon make even the most amiable mech bad-tempered, and amiable was not a word Starscream had ever been associated with. The blue mech's less sympathetic half was becoming weary of the constant ordering around. Once Starscream had included his brothers in every decision. Now he seemed to think only his opinion mattered.

_That better change soon,_ Thundercracker thought, turning back to his datapad. He brought up a world map, studying the dots littered across the screen. Green for energon, red for none, and orange for deposits guarded by the Autobots. Red and orange dominated the map, and Thundercracker exchanged several greens for reds, marking the places that Skywarp had recently depleted.

"_Skywarp, I need to see you."_

_ "Not another mission already?"_

_ "More energon collection."_

_ "Slag it, I'm not going! I'm sick of energon collection."_

_ "Sick enough that you'll go hungry instead?"_

_ "I just went!"_

_ "I've raised Starscream's rations again. His wings need to heal."_

_ "It'll take more than energon to fix them, and you know that. He needs a medic."_

_ "Who do you suggest? Scalpel?"_

_ "Send me the coordinates. _That_ mech touches Starscream over my dead chassis."_

Thundercracker sent them, a slight smile on his face. _"I agree."_

* * *

"_Is Skywarp back?"_ Starscream sent to Thundercracker, too comfortable to move from his chair and walk down the corridor to the other mech's room.

"_Not yet. Shall I contact him?"_

_ It's been almost a joor, what's taking him so long? "No, the Autobots might sense a long range communication."_

_ "Then I'll inform you as soon as he returns."_

_ "Do that."_

* * *

"Screamer, I found something!"

_Important enough to disturb my recharge?_ Starscream unshuttered his optics and frowned at his brother, then bent to pick up the datapad he'd set down before beginning his recharge cycle. "Don't call me that."

"Fine, _Starscream_, look!"

"What is it?" Starscream asked, not even bothering to glance up from the datapad.

"A squishy-"

Starscream dropped the datapad and stared at Skywarp as if he'd gone insane. "A _what?_"

Skywarp held out his hand, looking proud. "I found it all by itself, can I keep it?"

The squishy wasn't moving. Starscream gave it a tentative poke with the tip of his claw, then turned incredulous optics on his brother. "Is it dead?"

"No. I think it's in recharge due to shock."

"Shock?"

"I might have startled it a little. The others were screaming..." Skywarp trailed off, wilting under the unyielding glare being directed at him.

_Others?_ Starscream groaned inwardly. "What others? You said you found it alone."

"Well..." Skywarp shifted uncomfortably. "It was outside a big building, sitting by the fence. There were other squishies but none really close by. They were all small like this one."

Starscream felt like pounding his head against the nearest wall. This was just getting better and better. Hadn't Skywarp listened when he was told to avoid humans, especially young ones? "You took it from a school?"

"No, I checked. It wasn't a school. It was a..." The mech thought for a moment. "An orphanage! Yeah, that's what the sign said."

The only good thing about squishies was their internet. Starscream had the definition of orphanage in less than an astrosecond. An orphanage was slightly better than a school - after all, if adults sent younglings to such a place, the younglings must not be wanted. That left one question unanswered.

"Why do you want to keep it?"

"I can?" Skywarp looked like a youngling who had just been offered free candy.

"If you tell me why. And be careful with it. And don't let it run around without supervision. And-"

"Okay, I get it," Skywarp said hastily. When Starscream started listing rules, it was best to stop him before he got too far. "I thought it would be fun. You know, see what the squishies are really like."

"One human youngling is hardly a good example of the entire species," Starscream said in disgust. "Very well, you can keep the pet, but you have to take care of it yourself. Now let me recharge in peace, would you?"

The purple mech brightened. "Wait until Thundercracker hears!" He ran out of the room.

_No warping?_ Starscream wondered, shuttering his optics. _That's odd._

* * *

"Thundercracker!"

The blue mech winced as his door slammed against the wall, nearly coming off its hinges. "Skywarp, slow down."

"I've got a pet! Guess what it is!"

A quick internet search for the term 'pet' and Thundercracker groaned. "A cat?"

"No."

"A dog?"

"Wrong."

"A...hampster?"

"Guess again!"

"What is it, Skywarp? And did Starscream approve your keeping it?"

"Yes he did. It's a human." Skywarp held out his hand to display his prize.

_"Starscream, I think Skywarp-"_

_ "I already know and he does have permission, as long as the rules are followed."_

"What do you think?" the purple mech asked.

Thundercracker vented air. "Skywarp, where are you going to keep it?"

"Already thought of that," replied Skywarp proudly, pulling a long white object out of subspace. By human measure it was about thirty-five feet long, eight feet wide and nine feet tall. There were at least ten wheels on it.

"What is-"

"Humans call it a camper." Skywarp set it down, then frowned as the camper began rolling slowly - the room's floor had a slight slant.

"Take the wheels off," suggested Thundercracker. "And get it out of here, I don't want the squishy living in my office."

"Where am I supposed to keep her, then?"

"Her?"

"She's a youngling human femme," explained Skywarp. "I checked."

Thundercracker didn't bother asking how. "I don't care if it's the British queen, take it away. You can keep it in your room."

"But I have to find some energon. She could get lonely."

"Have Starscream watch her, I've got work to do." The blue mech returned to his datapad work, making it clear that the conversation was closed.

Sighing, Skywarp went to find the silver Seeker, wishing he could use his power – it was a lot faster than walking. However, the human had already emptied the contents of her stomach on him, after he'd warped away from the orphanage, and he didn't want to repeat that experience.

"Uhhhhhh..." moaned the human half a minute later. She opened one brown eye and found herself staring at the moving floor about twenty feet below. "Ah!" Squeezing her eyes shut, she curled into a ball, hands covering her face.

"Oh, you're awake," Skywarp said, pleased.

"Hi?" the girl ventured, peeking between her fingers. "Where am I? And who are you?"

The mech lifted her to eyelevel. "I'm Skywarp. You're going to be my pet."

"Pet?" Her eyes narrowed. "How'd you know my nickname?"

"That's your nickname? Perfect!"

"No, it's not. I want to go back to the orphanage."

Skywarp stopped walking, optics dimming. "But I'm _bored_."

"Play solitaire or something." The girl pinched her arm, then frowned. "This isn't a dream? Am I going crazy?" She sat up and folded her arms. "Are you real?"

The purple Seeker gave her a gentle poke. She yelped in surprise, then smiled. "At least I'm not crazy. Do I _have_ to be your pet?" she added, cocking her head. "Couldn't we be friends instead?"

Slightly confused by the human's sudden mood swing, Skywarp shrugged. The movement jostled his hand and the human tumbled onto her side with a high-pitched cry.

"Are you all right?"

"I don't like heights." She sat up slowly.

"If I set you down do you promise to follow me?"

"As long as you don't step on me. What's your name?"

"I'm Skywarp," he said, setting the human down. "Who are you?"

The girl made a face. "Petunia. I hate it."

"Why don't you change it, then?"

"I can't. The orphanage matron gave it to me and it's on my records... But I'm not at the orphanage anymore, am I?" Her cheerful smile flashed across her face again, then faded. "I can't think of a name I like."

"You could use your nickname," Skywarp suggested.

"'Pet', you mean? That is _not_ an option."

A quick web search revealed that there were well over a billion names, from Anita to Zeus. "How about Annie?"

"No."

"Henrietta?"

"That's worse than Petunia."

"Belle?"

"No."

"Victoria?"

"Absolutely not."

Skywarp and the human ran through a long list of names the Seeker picked off various sites as he walked down the hall.

"Mercedes?"

"That's a car brand!"

"Carly?"

"No."

"Quincy?"

"That's a boy's name."

The mech was becoming frustrated. "No, it can be given to a male or female." Receiving no response, he vented air before saying, "You've got ten seconds to pick something before 'Pet' becomes your official name."

"Jasmine."

"I don't know, it reminds me of that Autobot Jazz."

_"Skywarp, have you gotten the energon yet?"_

_Oh, slag_. "Jasmine it is," he said, closing his hand around the human. "Hold on, I need to warp."

Starscream was rudely awakened by Skywarp's entry. Exhausted, the silver mech glared at his brother, red optics smoldering with fury. "Skywarp, I told you not to disturb me."

"Thundercracker's going to have my aft if I don't get the energon soon," babbled Skywarp, thrusting Jasmine into Starscream's reluctant hands. "I'll be back as fast as I can. Bye, Jasmine."

"Ohhhh." The girl doubled over, clutching her stomach. "That hurt."

"Don't you dare spill your nasty bile on me or you'll regret it, squishy," warned Starscream, quickly setting the human on his chair arm, just in case.

"My name is Jasmine," the girl replied, sitting down. Her face was still pale but no longer had a nasty green tinge to it. "What's an Autobot?"

"The Autobots are bad mechs – and femmes – who fight against us, the Decepticons."

"'Decepticons'? No offense, but you guys sound more like the bad ones."

Starscream slammed a fist down on the chair arm, barely missing the human. "Don't you _ever_ say that again, especially not in my hearing, understand? Autobots are _bad_. You want proof, look at what they did to my wings." He stood, turned in a circle, then sank into the chair. Everything made him feel tired lately, and the brief outburst had drained his energy reserves. "I don't like humans, either, they've attacked us as well." He glared down at the human, who stared back, her expression unreadable. "You are going to sit right there and not move until Skywarp returns, you hear?"

"Can I ask one more question?"

"Only one."

"What's your name?"

"I'm Starscream." He shuttered his optics and was pleased to hear the human's uneven breathing steady. If it was smart, it would recharge while Skywarp was away.

"Sorry you were hurt, Starscream."

The silver mech's optics flew open and focused on the small creature sitting on his chair arm. "What?" escaped his mouth before he could stop it.

"I'm sorry," Jasmine repeated, her voice sincere. "I wish I could help in some way."

"You couldn't take an adult of your species on, what makes you think you could do anything to an Autobot?"

"I don't want to hurt anyone," the girl protested. "I meant help fix your wing."

"Forget it," Starscream said shortly. "The last thing I want is a squishy poking at sensitive wiring. Try recharging, would you?"

Jasmine opened her mouth to ask what recharging meant, but the giant robot had already shut his eyes and appeared to be sleeping. Maybe that's what recharge meant. She looked at the smooth metal surface she was sitting on. It curved down at the edges. What if she rolled off? The girl shuddered at the thought, then slid down the chair arm into Starscream's right hand, which was resting open on his leg. Smiling to herself, she fell asleep.


	2. Expectations

Updating a little sooner than planned, as it's New Years!  
Will try to update on (or at least near) the first of the month...

Thanks for reading, faving, and especially reviewing - knowing my work is enjoyed keeps me writing even on the bad days.

Happy New Years!

_Corrected as of 4/3/2011 (fixed a few spelling errors)  
_

* * *

Chapter Two

Expectations

The echo of laughter woke Starscream from his pleasant recharge. Recognizing Skywarp's voice, he looked for the purple mech. There was a trace of warp field dissipating in the air, and the silver Seeker relaxed, guessing that his brother had taken the human.

"What was that?" mumbled a sleepy voice.

Confused, Starscream looked down at his right hand. The human was sitting in it, yawning and rubbing her strange brown optics. Eyes, he mentally corrected himself, recalling the human term.

"Skywarp, I thought," he said, answering the human's question automatically as he ran his scans again, coming up with the same readings as before. "No, it _was_ him." _Why did he leave the human?_

_"Got some great pictures of you, Screamer. I'll show them to you later, Thundercracker's on my case for taking so long."_

_ "He's not the only one you should be fearing right now, Skywarp. You erase those memory files before I do, with my null ray."_

_ "But the pictures are so awesome!"_

Before the silver Seeker could think of a good retort to that, Thundercracker contacted him on their personal channel. _"Starscream, I just got a strange message from Skywarp. Why is the human recharging in your hand?"_

Terminating his conversation with his other brother, Starscream responded to the blue mech's question, _"Because Skywarp trick-never mind. Thundercracker, if you and Skywarp haven't erased those files by the time I get to your room, I'm sending you both to Megatron for an orn."_

_ "Yes, Lord Starscream."_

_ "And stop calling me that! What is it with you two lately! It's been Lord this and Lord that, unless Skywarp is using that infernal nickname he created."_

_ We're trying to keep you angry enough to have the will to live_, Thundercracker thought as he destroyed the memory file Skywarp had attached to his message. _And you're still fading, I can hear it in your voice. "Skywarp, enough with the blackmail material, where's that energon?"_

_ "Coming, coming."_

Skywarp appeared in Thundercracker's office, arms folded. "Sorry I'm late, I got chased by Autobots, had to lose them before I could come back."

"Why didn't you just warp?"

"That stupid inventor, Wheeljack was there with some sort of device that prevented me from warping, and then that jet, Skyfire, chased me halfway across the continent," grumbled Skywarp, setting down two energon cubes on Thundercracker's desk. "I got as much as I could. The Autobots control that source now."

"You did your best," Thundercracker agreed, picking up the datapad with the map. "Recharge for a bit, then I'm sending you out again. This isn't going to last long."

Groaning, Skywarp headed for the door, too tired to warp again.

"Oh, and Skywarp?"

"What now?" complained the purple mech, turning around. He failed to notice the door opening, but Thundercracker saw and shook his head.

"Never mind, the thought's gone. Oh, wait, did you wipe that memory file?"

"No, why?"

Starscream's clenched fist came down on his brother's head.

"That's why," he growled at the semi-conscious Skywarp sprawled on the floor.

The purple Seeker rubbed his dented helm. "I think you scrambled some of my circuits."

"Maybe I unscrambled the ones supposed to follow my orders."

Skywarp's shoulders slumped. "You win-" he used his last bit of energy to teleport from the room "-but only partly, Screamer!"

"It'd take major reprogramming to unscramble _his_ circuits," said Thundercracker.

"Don't tempt me." Starscream shuttered his optics briefly, then walked across the room. "He brought energon?"

"Yes, and this cube is yours." Thundercracker pushed one across the desk. "Don't argue, I'm sending him out again tomorrow."

"Good. If you need me, I'll be in my room, recharging."

"Starscream?"

"What now?" sighed the silver Seeker, pausing in the doorway, the energon cube glowing in his hands.

"Are you sure keeping a human here is wise? Lord Megatron will not approve."

"I don't care what Megatron thinks, what happens on this base is my concern." Starscream stormed out of the room, and Thundercracker allowed himself a quick grin before turning to the sobering job of choosing the next energon deposit to send Skywarp after.

* * *

Skywarp rescued Jasmine from Starscream's chair, then headed for his own room, two doors down the hall. The human was quiet, eyes fixed firmly on the plain metal walls as he walked along. Remembering her fear of heights, Skywarp stopped and set his hand on the ground. "You can walk if you like."

Jasmine shook her head. "Then we couldn't talk."

"We weren't talking," the Seeker pointed out.

"I was trying to think of something to say."

"Aren't you scared of heights?"

"Yes, but you won't drop me, because we're friends." The girl smiled and Skywarp smiled back, pleased that the human trusted him.

"That's right." Straightening, the mech continued down the hall. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Why did the Autobots hurt Starscream so badly?"

_Because we were attempting to kidnap one of their human allies. _"Because they wanted to."

"You couldn't stop them?"

"Trines always stick together," Skywarp said firmly, annoyed at the suggestion, however unintentional, that he wouldn't protect his brother. "Thundercracker and I were unable to assist him in time, that's all." Guilt flooded his spark for a moment, and he vented air.

"Oh. Isn't there a way to fix his wings?"

"If Screamer finds out I told you this, I'm dead, understand? He needs a medic, but the only Decepticon one currently on Earth is not...known for saving patients. What's that noise?"

Jasmine's face turned red, a reaction that Skywarp recalled from the human TV shows as being an indication of embarrassment.

"Sorry, is that a normal noise for humans to make?"

The girl laughed. "No, it means I'm hungry." She looked at him hopefully. "You do have food in this place?"

If he hadn't been carrying the human, Skywarp would have slapped his face helm in annoyance at his own stupidity. _I forgot that humans need fuel, too._ "It won't take long to get some. What would you like?" He began searching the web for ideas, then wished he hadn't. Some of the things humans did with their food before they cooked it, and what they used... Were animals really treated in that fashion? It was horrifying. He disconnected from the internet and pushed open the door to his room. After pulling the camper out of subspace and setting it and the human down, Skywarp checked his energy levels. Enough for one or two warps, if they weren't too far. A quick jaunt through cyberspace revealed the closest take out restaurants and fast food joints.

"I'll be right back," he said, then vanished.

Jasmine folded her arms and scowled at the empty space. "You didn't even let me order!" Shaking her head, the girl marched over to the camper and went inside, guessing that this was her new home. It was certainly more spacious than the room she had shared with six other girls back at the orphanage. Three bunk beds at one end; a bathroom with an actual tub, not just a shower stall; a kitchen with a fold-down table; a tiny living room complete with couch and miniature television; finally the master bedroom with a bed that had to be a full, if not a queen-sized, mattress. There were sheets and blankets on all the beds, dishes in the cupboards and even a few boxes of dry food, including granola bars and cereal.

"Wonder where he got this," she mused, sprawled on the large bed. Jasmine closed her eyes, enjoying the softness of the thick comforter and the sweet aftertaste of honey-nut granola. "Actually, I don't want to know."

* * *

Upon reaching his destination Skywarp realized that he'd forgotten to wait for the human's reply to his question about food, so he sent his hologram into several different places and ordered whatever looked – or sounded – good. His replication of their money seemed to fool the cashiers, though he doubted they'd be pleased when they found that the money had disappeared as soon as his hologram projector was out of range.

Back home, Skywarp set his purchases on the floor by the camper. His scans showed that the human was inside, but recharging, so he went to get some rest himself after one last message. _"Thundercracker, give me a joor or two, then I'll get some more energon."_

_ "You hit your head on something, Skywarp?"_

_"No."_

_ "Then how come you're suddenly interested in energon collection again? You aren't low, are you?"_

Skywarp checked. Energon levels hovered around the twenty percent line and several non-life-threatening systems had shut down, including his high-powered weapons. _"I'm fine." As long as I don't tangle with any Autobots. "Need to recharge, that's all."_

_"I'll give you two joors, then report to me."_

_ "Sure, TC."_

_ "And don't call me that."_

_ "You need to recharge, too."_

_ "Got a report to write for Lord Megatron first."_

_ "What, another already?"_

_ "Do I need to retune your chronometer? It's been over an orn since my last report, and if he doesn't know what's going on here down to the last second of each day..."_

_ "You're not going to tell him about Jasmine, are you?"_

_ "Not at the moment, but if it interferes with your duties, I will, and don't think just because you're alone you _are_ alone. Starscream's got cameras installed everywhere, I've had to wipe sixteen already."_

_ "Blame me for the lost vid."_

_ "I won't have to. Lord Megatron's well aware of the enjoyment you get from playing pranks."_

_ "I'm not as bad as some."_

_ "True. I've heard horror stories about those Autobot twins."_

_ "They don't have any class. Paint thinner in the washracks? That's baby stuff."_

_ "I was referring to them painting Ironhide's cannons pink."_

Skywarp blinked. He hadn't heard that one before. _"They have a death wish, don't they?"_

_ "So it would seem. Go recharge now. By the way, did you feed the human?"_

_ "I got it some fuel, but it's sleeping at the moment."_

_ "Food, you mean?"_

_ "What?"_

_ "Humans use fuel for their vehicles."_

_ "What do you think I am, stupid? I meant food!"_ Skywarp scowled when he realized he was talking to himself – Thundercracker had terminated their comm link. _Probably shouldn't have yelled._ The purple Seeker lay down on his recharge berth and shuttered his optics, setting his alarm system to wake him in a little under two joors. _I can apologize later. Or not._

* * *

A weird sound brought Skywarp out of recharge several breems early. The first thing his optics landed on was the human, the second was the rapidly spreading puddle at her feet. Half-digested food, by the look of it, and as he watched, Jasmine bent over again and more stuff spilled from her mouth.

"What happened?" the Seeker asked, trying to keep his disgust hidden. He hadn't seen such a mess since the time Starscream drank too much high grade and got into a fight with Megatron.

"Forgot to tell you I'm allergic to meat." The human straightened and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Didn't realize that Chinese food was full of it."

An online dictionary revealed what allergic meant and more web searching brought up recipes for the foods he'd bought. Most of them had meat.

"Sorry," he said, feeling sick himself. He'd purged his own tanks once or twice, usually after over-fueling on high grade. "I'll get some different stuff."

"Fruit would be good," said Jasmine, arms wrapped around her stomach. Her face was pale, and Skywarp wondered how bad an allergic reaction she was having. The girl took a few deep breaths. "If the camper had electricity the fridge would keep milk cold; there's a bunch of cereal in the cupboards."

_I'll have to ask Starscream about the electricity, he'd know how to set it up._ "Give me a list and I'll try to find everything." Jasmine reeled off a bunch of foods and Skywarp stored the information away. "You won't starve if it takes me a few joors, will you?"

"Joor?" Jasmine asked, confused.

"About thirteen of your hours."

"No, I'll be okay, there's granola bars and dry cereal's not that bad. I could use something to drink, though, like water."

_Humans are harder to take care of than I thought_. "Okay. Stay here, I'll be back."

"Okay."

The human didn't sound very happy. Stopping in the doorway, Skywarp looked back. "I'm really sorry."

"Not your fault, I forgot to mention it."

For some reason, the fact that she was being nice about it made the Seeker feel worse. He left without saying anything else. _"Starscream?"_

_ "What?"_

_ "Can you make it so Jasmine's camper has electricity? Please?"_

_ "Skywarp, did you just say please?"_ Starscream didn't even bother to hide his surprise.

_ "Yes,"_ the purple mech grumbled. _"Can you do it?"_

_ "A small generator would suffice, I suppose. When do you want it done?"_

_ "ASAP."_

_ "All right, I'll get on it as soon as I'm done recharging."_

_"Thanks."_ Skywarp switched frequencies. _"Thundercracker, I'm ready to go."_

_ "Did you recharge already?"_

_ "Yeah. Give me the coordinates, would you?"_ Skywarp opened the message he received and plotted a course before he'd even reached the base's front door. _"I'm off."_

_"What, no wisecracks today?"_

_ "Shut up, TC, I have to get the human more food."_

_ "I know. Your human's systems malfunctioned rather spectacularly. It's a good thing we have cleaning drones."_

_ "Hey, you can't send one of those into the room without warning her, it'll scare her half to death."_

_ "Don't worry, Starscream will supervise it while he's attaching the generator."_

_ "How long has he been recharging?"_

_ "Too long. I'm glad you woke him, I was about to."_

Shaking his head, Skywarp transformed and flew away from the base, altering his earlier course to take him near a town. The human's list was almost devoid of anything her species termed 'sweet', and to relieve the boredom of the long flight ahead, the Seeker began searching the web for suggestions on treats Jasmine might like.

* * *

"Did your systems back up?"

Jasmine glanced up, startled. For a giant robot, Starscream could move quietly enough to escape her notice. "Huh?"

Annoyed by the human's slowness, the silver mech pointed at the mess she was cleaning up with strange white things he identified as paper towels. "Did your systems back up or are you not house-trained?"

The girl bristled. "I'm allergic to meat and accidentally ate some, that's all."

"You mean, Skywarp fed you the wrong kind of fuel." Starscream snorted, setting down a metal device almost as tall as Jasmine next to the camper. "Typical."

"It's not his fault. I didn't tell him I was allergic." The human stopped cleaning. "What are you doing?"

Scowling, the Seeker began connecting wires. His processors ached and he wanted to go back to recharging, but Skywarp wanted the generator set up for his pet, who wasn't helping with her constant chatter. "Setting up a generator. I suggest moving out of the drone's way before it decides you're part of that mess."

A large shadow suddenly blocked the room's light and the human flinched, startled by the appearance of another robot, nowhere near Starscream's size but much larger than she was. It didn't have any eyes and there were spinning brushes on its base. Jasmine retreated into the camper and watched through the screen door as the drone cleaned, taking even the leftover food.

"Can it talk?"

"What?" snapped Starscream, poking a small wire into place. A bright spark caused him to snatch his finger away and glare at the generator, then at the human, who had repeated the question.

"The drone, can it talk?"

"No, it's just a cleaning bot, not sentient. Didn't I tell you to be quiet?"

"No."

"Well, I am now."

"Can I help?"

It was a tempting thought, the human would be able to poke at the inner workings of the camper's fuse panel with more ease, being smaller, but if it managed to electrocute itself, Skywarp would sulk for orns. "No."

"Okay." Jasmine closed the door, the lock making a small click, then she went sit on the bed, not having anything else to do. _Maybe this place isn't so great,_ she thought, heart sinking. _The silver one, Starscream, doesn't want me around and Skywarp keeps going off to do whatever Thundercracker – whoever he is - wants him to do._ The girl hugged her knees to her chest, trying to stop the slight discomfort she still felt from throwing up. A sour taste filled her mouth but there wasn't any water to be had. Hopefully Skywarp would remember to get some.

* * *

Starscream was pretty sure the connections were right. He gazed at the tangle of wires running from generator to camper control panel and back. Not one of his better creations, but the crude human design didn't allow for simple attachments, everything had to be hooked to fuses and adapters. He added one more thing, a small force field generator that would keep the human safe from electrocution by accident, then tapped on the roof of the camper. Time to try it out and he didn't want to fry the squishy. Not that he doubted his work, but a wise mech didn't tempt chance any more than necessary.

After about a minute of tapping, Starscream gave up trying to get the human's attention that way – it seemed to be ignoring him. With a swift flick of his finger, he sent the camper rolling a few yards, not very fast, just enough to shake the squishy a bit. No sooner had the camper stopped than the human jumped out, swaying unsteadily and paler than he remembered it being. Not a good sign, but he wasn't feeling any remorse.

"Next time you ignore me, I'll push this camper – with you in it – over a cliff, understand, squishy?"

"I have a name," she reminded him, scowling. "What do you want?"

"You to leave," muttered the Seeker, too quietly for the human to hear. In a louder voice he added, "See that?" He pointed at the generator. "I'm going to turn it on. There's a very small chance it might overload the camper's primitive control panel, resulting in a loud and rather disastrous explosion. Would you prefer to be inside or outside during such an event?" he finished, voice heavy with sarcasm.

"As a third option, could I go for a walk?"

"Not without supervision." Starscream indicated a spot on the floor about twenty yards from the camper. "Stand there and don't move."

Jasmine moved without a word of complaint, something that would have raised the silver mech's suspicions had he not just received a disturbing message.

_"Starscream, expect my arrival at 1400."_

No response requested, no name supplied, and neither was needed. The silver mech recognized his leader's voice and muttered a curse under his breath, then looked for the human. Megatron would not look well upon Skywarp's experiment and Starscream did not have the energy to come up with a good explanation. Unfortunately, the squishy was not in sight, and scans didn't pick her up in the hallway, either. A quick check revealed it was already 1302, which gave them less than an Earth hour to find the human.

"Slag it!" Starscream jumped to his feet, almost crushing the camper and his hard work. _"Thundercracker, it's loose."_

_ "The human, you mean? Can anything else go wrong today? I just got a message from Megatron."_

_ "He's coming. I know. I received the same message. Find that human!"_


	3. Lies

Sorry, this chapter is a few days late. Things are kind of hectic right now, and although my getting a part-time job is truly good news, it _has_ wreaked havoc on my personal life. :/ I barely have time for myself anymore between doing chores, working and getting my schoolwork done.

To those who are also following _Revealing Secrets_, I will try to have the next chapter up within a few days - still working on writing it at the moment.

Thanks as always for reading and faving/alerting, and especially for reviewing. Letting me know what you think of my story, whether it is positive, negative or somewhere in between, helps me become a better writer and quite often cheers me up when I'm feeling down. I can't thank you enough, and I hope you enjoy the latest chapter as much as the previous ones.**  
**

* * *

Chapter Three

Lies

Skywarp drifted down, landing with a soft puff of dust on the runway. His wheels kicked up dirt and grass that had managed to spread across the tarmac and the purple mech transformed, preferring to walk through the mess. No doubt he'd be given the job of cleaning it, but at the moment there were more pressing matters. Namely, finding Jasmine. Thundercracker had commed him, saying there was an emergency back at base and to get home ASAP, which Skywarp had, after making a quick stop at a human store for bottled water. Why the humans insisted on selling a liquid found practically everywhere on their little planet, Skywarp wasn't sure, but the bottles were easier to carry than a river or pond, and cleaner, if the packaging was anything to go by.

After dropping off the few energon cubes he'd collected, Skywarp joined the search for Jasmine, conversing with his brothers over their trine bond as they scanned every square inch of the base.

_"We're vastly superior beings compared to that squishy, how can it elude us like this?"_ Starscream demanded, and Skywarp's audio processors were grateful that his brother wasn't speaking aloud – no doubt the silver mech would be shrieking.

_"It doesn't help that the cameras aren't working,"_ said Thundercracker.

_ "Whose bright idea was that?"_

_ "Mine,"_ the blue mech admitted, closing the door to the generator room, having confirmed that there were no organics inside with the exception of a few hardy molds that would need to be removed at some point – he made a mental note to have Skywarp do that when there was time. "_The less physical evidence of the human, the better."_

_ "Well, we don't have any physical evidence right now. It's completely gone."_

_ "Jasmine's a she, Starscream,"_ said Skywarp.

_ "If Megatron catches us with a human on base..."_ Starscream didn't have to finish the threat.

The purple mech paused in his weaving back and forth over the base, hovering midair in altmode. _"We'll find her before then."_

_ "ETA five minutes,"_ Thundercracker sent, words crackling with urgency. _"Starscream, you better be outside, waiting to greet him. Skywarp, cease aerial scans and start searching the base from the ground, starting with your room."_

_As if I missed anything during the first fifty scans in there,_ the purple mech thought, not daring to grumble aloud. Megatron might have Soundwave with him and that mech could hear a vocal transmission taking place halfway around the world, or at least acted like he could. Better to hold his silence.

After teleporting to his room, Skywarp set his scan levels as high as possible and began sweeping the room. The results were the same as the last fifty times, and the Seeker shook his head. _"No luck."_

_ "Megatron has flown into sight, I suggest you get out here before he arrives."_

_ "Yes, Starscream,"_ he replied, trying to remain calm. Cooling fans kicked in and he headed down the hall, almost tripping over a cleaning bot. "Out of my way," the purple mech snapped, kicking the machine aside in his haste.

The bot made a strange squeaking noise and Skywarp froze, venting air. Surely the solution couldn't be so simple. He bent down, scanning the entire bot, and picked up a small heat anomaly.

"Jasmine, I know you're there, please come out. Our boss is here and you need to hide," he whispered, keeping one optic on the front door, just down the hall. He could pick up the muted sounds of vocal communication; Megatron could walk in at any moment.

A sigh came from under the cleaning bot, then Jasmine crawled out from her hiding place. "I thought, being a Seeker, you'd like playing hide and seek."

"Not when the boss is here." Skywarp held out his hand. "Come on, we've got to get you somewhere safe." _Where, though? I'm not supposed to warp while on base and I don't have enough time to reach my room by walking._ He looked down at Jasmine, who gazed back, complete trust shining in her eyes. The Seeker shuddered at thought of Megatron getting his claws on the human. _There's got to be some place that Megatron won't think to look._ Clanking noises came from the door. _Slag it, Skywarp, think!_

* * *

"I apologize, Lord Megatron, Skywarp must have locked it again," Starscream said, bowing to the Decepticon leader while trying to hide his annoyance of being forced to act in such a subordinate fashion. _Skywarp better have the squishy hidden or..._ The silver Seeker's thought trailed off, since he couldn't think of something worse than the punishment Megatron would have for the trine.

His leader's optics narrowed. "Is this a common occurrence?"

"Not really. He does it every few orns."

"Why didn't you mention it during my last visit?"

"I didn't think it necessary to bother you with such a minor detail. Thundercracker, do you have that door open yet?"

The blue mech prodded at different controls, feigning confusion. "Slag it, Skywarp, what did you do this time?"

"Step back," Megatron ordered, pointing his cannon at the door, having lost what little patience he had.

"Lord Megatron, don't shoot the door, it'll take joors to repair."

"Out of my way," the larger mech shouted, and this time, Thundercracker moved, barely avoiding the blast.

Wind cleared away the smoke and Megatron stormed through the hole his shot had made. Twisted bits of metal clattered to the floor and Starscream held back a groan at the mess. _Skywarp's going to have a lot of work to do once Megatron's gone._ The Seeker stopped in the doorway, horrified by the sight of Skywarp bending over a cleaning bot. _If the squishy's inside that, we're slagged._

"Skywarp," growled Megatron.

"Yes, Lord Megatron?" The purple mech looked very guilty as he turned to face his leader. "Is something wrong?"

A large fist slammed into his face, and Skywarp stumbled back, tripping over the bot and slamming into the wall hard enough to send him into a temporary stasis lock. Thundercracker, after a quick glance at Megatron, went over and picked up his brother. "Please excuse me, I will put him in the brig."

"Leave him in there for an orn, maybe next time I visit he won't be foolish enough to play his little games." Megatron pointed at the cleaning bot. "What do you suppose he was planning on doing with this, Starscream?"

"I don't know," the Seeker said truthfully.

Megatron fired a single shot, reducing the bot to a pile of molten scrap. "Well, we won't worry about it now." He started walking down the hall. "Have you sighted any Autobots in this sector since my last visit?"

"No. We would have contacted you if they were around." Starscream focused his processors on answering his leader's questions, trying not to think about the possible death of the squishy. If Skywarp's pet _was_ dead... The Seeker shook his head. _Skywarp better not get any ideas about revenge, or I'll send him on a solo mission to the North Pole for a few orns._

"How is your energon store?"

"It can hold us for another orn," Starscream lied, deciding not to reveal Skywarp's frequent trips to replenish their supply. Mentioning that would lead to questions regarding why he hadn't gone himself, and there was no need for Megatron to know his wings were still in the process of healing. A small hologram hid the damage, well worth the energy it took to sustain the complicated system.

"We have a surplus at the main base. If you need some, contact Soundwave."

_That would make your day, me asking for help,_ Starscream thought, hiding a scowl. "Your generosity is overwhelming, but unnecessary at this point of time."

"Very well. I will cancel the next delivery, then."

_Oh, slag._ The Seeker cursed himself, mind racing to come up with an appropriate response, one that didn't involve every swear word he knew. "We will need it to repair the door you destroyed, Lord Megatron, unless you would prefer us to leave the base wide open to an Autobot attack."

"As commander of this base, it is your responsibility to supply the materials needed for construction and repairs."

"But as our illustrious leader, it is _your_ responsibility to ensure the strength of your outposts." Starscream barely managed to keep sarcasm from flowing out with those words. If _he_ was leader, there wouldn't be an energon shortage, and the Autobots would be nothing but a bad memory.

"Very well. Perhaps I shall have half delivered. Will that be sufficient?" The look on Megatron's face sent a cold chill through the Seeker's spark.

_He can't know of my injury, not with Thundercracker altering the camera records..._

"I know you're up to something," growled the Decepticon leader, coming to a sudden halt. "Watch your step, Starscream, because if this is another one of your assassination plots, not even your trine will be able to protect you this time."

Starscream kept the relief from his voice with the ease of many years' practice. "Whatever gave you that idea? I am loyal to the Decepticon cause, Lord Megatron. Killing you would hand victory to the Autobots, and we can't have that."

"No, we can't." Megatron shot him a sinister glare, then turned and stalked down the hall to the front door, Starscream trailing after him. "This inspection can wait until the next energon supply arrives. Expect my return in a few solar cycles." Without waiting for a reply, he took off, leaving a confused Seeker standing in the destroyed doorway.

_"Screamer, please tell me he didn't leave early because you said the wrong thing and got slagged as usual."_

_ "Starscream? What happened?"_

_ "I am not exactly sure,"_ Starscream admitted, beginning to inspect the damage his leader had left in his wake. _"I do know a certain purple Seeker will be doing a lot of repair work for the next orn."_

_ "Not fair! I can't repair that giant hole _and_ spend all day searching for energon not guarded by Autobots or Decepticons."_

_ "It's your fault he shot it in the first place. Speaking of shooting,"_ Starscream added, suddenly remembering the reason for his and Thundercracker's deception in the first place _"the cleaning bot got slagged by Megatron, so I sincerely hope your pet wasn't in that thing. There's hardly enough scrap left to recycle."_

_"No, Jasmine's with me,"_ Skywarp said hastily. _"I'll get started on the door right away."_

Was it just him, or did his brother sound almost guilty? Starscream's swift mind put two and two together, and he demanded, _"Where is the squishy right now?"_

_ "With me,"_ his brother replied, replying in a hesitant manner, like he knew what the next question would be and dreaded the answer.

_"Where exactly with you? Please tell me you didn't put it in your spark chamber."_ When no response was forthcoming, Starscream slammed his face helm against the nearest wall, knocking a few loose bits of metal from the gaping hole. _"Skywarp, that's dangerous! Get it out and don't you ever dare consider hiding it there again."_

_ "There wasn't any place else, Megatron was about to walk in-"_

_ "I don't want to hear it. Not even you could come up with a good enough reason to excuse hiding a human in the most vulnerable part of your body. What if she accidentally damaged a spire? Or the radiation of your spark fried her?"_

_ "Is that possible?"_

_ "Maybe,"_ Starscream replied, not sure at all, but willing to lie if it meant his brother would think twice about pulling that stunt again. The tension rushed out of his system all of a sudden, sending him reeling against the nearest wall, which he clutched in order to keep from falling. _"If neither of you need me for anything else, I am going to recharge for a joor or two."_

_ "Did you get the generator hooked up?"_ Skywarp asked.

_"Slag."_ Shuttering his optics, the silver Seeker ran a few calculations and decided he had enough energy left to make it to his trinemate's room in order to finish what he had started a few breems ago. _"All right, I will deal with that first. Keep your human away until I am done, if the camper explodes, I do not want you to be going off to find a new squishy because the first one died."_

_ "He needs to go on energon collection,"_ Thundercracker protested.

_"Then you can watch the squishy for a bit."_

There was a hint of panic in the blue Seeker's swift reply. _"But my reports-"_

_ "-can wait, or you can work on them. Just tell it to sit still and not make any sound."_

_ "Is that what you told it when it decided to recharge in your hand?"_

Starscream vented air. _"Actually, I told it to recharge while it could, but I didn't expect it to decide my hand would make the best berth."_

_ "Jasmine is a she, Screamer,"_ said Skywarp, sounding annoyed.

_"Better get started, when you get back there are a lot of repairs to be done,"_ Starscream replied, and terminated the connection with both his trinemates before either could transmit another word.

* * *

Skywarp dropped Jasmine on Thundercracker's desk and warped away without waiting to hear his brother's protests. The blue mech scowled at the empty space that had held his brother a few astroseconds ago, then glanced down at the human, who had sat up and was now clutching her midsection, face scrunched in an expression he identified as discomfort.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, turning back to the datapad he had been working on a moment before his brother's rude appearance. _If Skywarp doesn't stop warping in this place soon, Starscream is going to have a fit. Something about damaging the structural integrity with sudden vacuums, if I remember correctly._

"Teleporting makes my stomach do flips," Jasmine mumbled, swallowing down the sharp bile attempting to escape through her mouth. It didn't help that she was feeling hungry again, and who knew how long it would be until she could return to the camper. _I better starting carrying food around with me._

"Well, if you need to purge your tanks again, let me know so I can move you to a spot where you won't do any damage. At the moment, I would appreciate it if you stayed where you are and tried to be quiet, because this work can't wait."

"What are you doing?" asked the human, ignoring his order as she stood and walked over to peer down at the cryptic symbols on the huge metal encased screen he was holding. "You're Thundercracker, right?" she added, glancing up to meet his red optics with a friendly smile. "Can I help?"

"No, this is a complicated report, and I doubt you can read Cybertronian."

"Cyber... Cybertro..." Jasmine struggled to repeat the word until Thundercracker said it again.

"Cybertronian."

Cybertronian," echoed the human, rolling the word in her mouth. "Is that the name of your language? With all the strange markings? Can you teach me it?"

"Cybertronian is our language, and yes, these glyphs are part of it. No, I can't teach you."

"Why not?"

_No wonder Skywarp left in such a hurry, this squishy could probably talk until even his audio receptors failed._ "Because it is a complicated language and I don't have time. Now sit down and be quiet." He let a slight growl creep into his words, hoping it would be enough to scare the human into obedient silence, but it seemed to have to opposite effect, because she laughed and pointed at the screen.

"That picture looks a bit like that," she said, pointing from the word "deception" to the insignia on his wings. "What does it mean?"

"It means 'deception', and the similarity is because both symbols were derived from a root character." Thundercracker picked the human up as gently as he could and moved her to the other side of his desk. "Question time is over."

"But-"

"Can you write in your own language?" the mech interrupted, grabbing an empty datapad from a stack he had when the girl nodded, confusion written across her face. "Here, practice on this." He set the datapad to touch-sensitive, gave her a quick demonstration of how to make lines appear on the surface – she had to push rather hard to make even the faintest marks show up until he made the sensitivity higher – then left the human to do what she wished with the datapad while he worked on the report he still hadn't finished.

For several breems Jasmine played about on the datapad, not bothering Thundercracker with any more questions, until he had almost forgotten the human was sitting on his desk.


	4. Intelligence

Update right on time, for once! For those who read RS, I can only apologize for this past month... Longer explanation will be in the AN in the new chapter, which will probably be up by tonight.

Thanks for all the faves, alerts and especially your reviews! I appreciate them all and always welcome comments and constructive criticism.

Disclaimer: I don't own it, and any similarities to other fics are completely coincidental. Please don't sue me, I don't have the money for a lawyer...

* * *

Chapter Four

Intelligence

Chuckling, Jasmine put the finishing touches to her drawing before looking toward Thundercracker, who hadn't so much as glanced in her direction for quite some time, apparently engrossed with his business, whatever it was. "Look!" she called, trying to draw his attention, and when the Decepticon ignored her, she ran over and tapped his finger until he looked up.

"What is it?" Thundercracker grumbled, annoyed about being interrupted in his work, but Jasmine simply smiled and pointed at her borrowed datapad.

"I drew a picture," she announced proudly, though he had already figured that out upon giving the datapad a quick look over.

"What is it?" he asked, even as he analyzed the crude drawing, which consisted of a small stick figure surrounded by three larger ones with strange triangular shapes sticking out of their shoulders. _It's us,_ he realized in surprise. _Skywarp, Starscream and myself, and the small figure must be her. Why would she draw something like this?_

As if reading his thoughts, Jasmine answered his second question as well as the first. "I don't write very well, so I decided to draw a picture instead. Do you like it?"

"The-" _quality is poor, and proportions are inaccurate,_ he had been about to say, but something stopped the words before they could leave his mouth. "It is nice," the Seeker said instead, telling himself that humans could be sensitive when it came to criticism and he really didn't want a bawling one sitting among so many important datapads. The noise alone would make it impossible to do any work. "I assume that is my trine and yourself?"

"Skywarp, Starscream and you, Thundercracker," she said, touching each picture as she spoke and leaving a faint thumbprint behind, thanks to the screen's current high sensitivity. "I didn't know how tall you are so I made you a little shorter than Starscream, and Skywarp's a little shorter than you."

"Close enough," Thundercracker said, resisting a smile – he _was_ shorter than Starscream, though not by much. The human's picture made it seem like a couple feet separated them instead of only a few inches. Ordinarily he would be annoyed by the comparison, but since Skywarp's picture was actually a little taller than his, he could tell the human wasn't good when it came to judging distances. "And the other figure is you?"

"Yes," said Jasmine, pleased he had recognized her. "I know I'm too big but I couldn't draw a face if I made myself smaller." The stick figure's head contained two eyes of different sizes and a lopsided smile. "I can draw better on paper," she added, sighing. "This thing-"

"-it's called a datapad," Thundercracker corrected.

"-this datapad isn't very easy to draw on."

"We don't usually use them for that purpose, they are for writing on," Thundercracker said. "Would you like me to clear it so you can do something else now?"

"Okay," Jasmine said, stepping back, and watched carefully as Thundercracker pressed the buttons that would enter a command to wipe the surface clean. "Can I try?"

"If you like," he said, slightly amused. She spoke far too much, but her curiosity was almost too big for such a small form. The human reminded him of a sparkling, always poking into everything. "Shall I show you the sequence again?"

"Yes, please," she said, and paid close attention, then copied his moves once he was done. In order to push the buttons she had to step on each one and lean her weight on it so it would click, then move on to the next one. No wonder her drawing had been slightly off in the dimensions, the screen was too big for her to see all at once when close up, Thundercracker realized. _Perhaps a smaller datapad would be better, I could rig one-_ he stopped that thought before it go any further and shook his head in amazement. Only a little while ago he had been complaining about having a squishy around, and now he was coming up with ways to accommodate it? _You're going soft, Thundercracker_, he told himself, and turned back to his report, deciding to leave the squishy alone until Skywarp returned.

No sooner had he thought about his brother than the purple mech contacted him. _"How's it going?"_

_"Well enough. She drew a picture of us."_

_ "Of who?"_

_ "Herself and our trine. It seems your pet is becoming rather attached to us, Skywarp. Couldn't you take it back before it forgets what species it is?"_

_ "Jasmine's a she, TC, stop calling her 'it', and tell Screamer to not call her that, either. Did he get the generator done?"_

_ "Yes. I had to wipe the video so no one would see the trailer. You are lucky Megatron didn't see any more of the base than he did, he might have requested to see the security vids and you would be scrap."_

_ "I know, but it won't happen again, I promise. I'll find a safe place for Jasmine to hide and everything will be fine."_

Coming from Skywarp's mouth, those words were more worrying than soothing. _"All right_," Thundercracker said reluctantly, not wanting to argue any further at the moment. _"But don't pull that stunt with your spark chamber again. You could have both been killed."_

_ "Yeah, I know, Screamer already gave me that lecture. Twice, in fact. Got to go, I'm getting Autobot signals on my radar. Be back within a joor."_

_ "Don't be late."_ Thundercracker terminated the link and set an alarm to ring a few astroseconds after the next joor was over. _If he's not back, I'll go out looking for him._

"Thundercracker?"

"What now? I am busy, human, in case you hadn't noticed."

"Sorry," said Jasmine, clasping her hands behind her back. "I just wanted to show you my portrait of you."

This picture was far better than the first. He could see himself, his chair, the table and even the datapad he held. His wings were a little crooked, and he knew for certain that his face didn't look quite that flat – no way was his nose that large, either – but otherwise the picture was well done. "Looks good," he said, with a little more enthusiasm than he had had for the first. "Perhaps you'll become an artist when you get older."

"No, I'm not good enough." Jasmine looked down and scuffed one foot against the desktop. "The matron – the woman in charge – at the orphanage said my pictures are just worthless scribbles and I should be trying to learn something useful, like math." The human made a face to show what she thought of that subject.

_What kind of creatures are humans, to speak to their younglings like that?_ Thundercracker wondered, spark pulsing faster than normal with anger. _Not even Megatron would say something so harsh to a sparkling._

Hearing the mech's cooling fans kicking in, Jasmine guessed she had said something wrong and hastened to apologize. "Sorry, I didn't mean to complain, I mean, they gave me a home there and you're giving me an even better one, and I really should spend more time with important stuff like ma-"

"No," Thundercracker said, grabbing another blank datapad. "Come here."

Jasmine stepped forward cautiously. "What is it?"

"I want you to copy this symbol over and over until you can draw it from memory," Thundercracker said, brushing his finger over the upper right hand corner of datapad until he had drawn a simple Cybertronian character. "Can you do that?"

"Is it Cybertronian?" Jasmine guessed, squealing with delight when he gave a short nod – the Decepticon dimmed his audio receptors until the noise quieted to bearable levels. "What does it mean?"

"It's your name in Cybertronian," said Thundercracker. "Sort of. Jasmine is an earth flower that we don't have on Cybertron, but the name literally means flower, which is translatable."

"So this means flower?"

"Yes."

"How do you write your name?"

Thundercracker sighed, but drew a series of complicated symbols. "I can't explain what each one means, some are too difficult to translate, but that's my name in Cybertronian." He sighed again when the girl continued to watch him expectantly. "If I write down the others' names as well, will you be quiet and let me work?"

"Yes," she said promptly, and watched as he jotted down Starscream's and Skywarp's as well. "Why do you all have these symbols?" Jasmine indicated two of the simplest that sat side beside within all three Seeker's names.

"The first means Seeker, the second is our personal trine symbol."

"Sort of like a last name," Jasmine said, drawing a circle around the subject of her attention.

"Yes," Thundercracker agreed, returning to his work in hopes of actually getting it done. "Now, why don't you practice drawing those and let me do my work?" _Considering how complicated those symbols are, especially Starscream's, she's going to be there for a while, which will give me plenty of time to work in peace._

_"THUNDERCRACKER!"_

_"Starscream, how many times must I tell you, don't shout over our trine bond! It still hurts my audio receptors. What's the problem this time?"_

_ "Skywarp is a slagging-" _Starscream spent several minutes using every word he knew and several Thundercracker had never heard to describe their brother. _"And, worst of all, he just had to steal the heiress to an enormous fortune!_"

_"What are you talking about?"_

_ "Check any human television channel you have available right now, because they're almost all playing the same story. Skywarp's really done it now, and we're all slagged if Megatron finds out. Do you have any idea what he would do to us for blowing our cover like this?"_

Thundercracker's spark skipped several pulses as he followed his brother's order. The news was even worse than Starscream had made it seem. _"Are you going to tell Skywarp about this?"_

_ "He already knows and is headed home as fast as he can warp. Thundercracker, she has got to go."_

Not ten minutes ago, Thundercracker would have agreed, but after their recent conversation and the news that he was collecting as rapidly as possible, he wasn't so sure that was a good idea. _"Are you sure that's the best thing for her? She's only a child, and they don't have much proof."_

_ "It's for the best. She'll live a nice long life, instead of hiding all the time, waiting for Megatron to find and slag her."_

_ "You can't make her leave,"_ Skywarp protested, having gotten within range so he could communicate with his brothers even as he warped, which made his voice bouncy and transmit with strange short pauses. _"Please, Starscream, don't make me take her back."_

_ "She has to go back."_

_ "At least ask her what she thinks."_

_ "You can, but I am sure she will agree that it's for the best. Wake me when you come to that conclusion, too."_

* * *

Soundwave's surveillance of the human television stations was often boring and he spent a good portion of time comparing how many channels ran the exact same 'exclusive' report with the only difference being that their reporters were not the same. There were even more than he would have believed possible, but when a new one popped up, it did more than catch his attention for a brief instant. He skipped past it, then went back, startled by what he was hearing.

_ "An orphan went missing not long before lawyers arrived at the place she had been staying, seeking her because she was the sole heir of an enormous amount of currency. Although the woman in charge refused to speak with us on camera, she did say a metal monster snatched the child earlier today. There is now an FBI-led search taking place, and as the hunt for the poor girl begins, relatives already begin to bicker over who will be taking her in-"_

Soundwave lowered his monitoring to a sublevel part of his processor, where things would simply be recorded to be reviewed later. Running the woman's voice through his mind again, the Decepticon mused that something about it sounded fishy. After Megatron's abrupt return from his visit to Starscream's base, something had been bothering the communications officer, and now that slight anomaly in his processor began to make sense. However, before he told Megatron his suspicions, he was going to need to look into the matter himself. More information was needed, and he began studying the television signals with more interest than he had had for a long time.

* * *

When Skywarp popped into Thundercracker's office, Jasmine covered her ears at the sharp sound. "I don't remember it being that loud," she said, wincing.

"Sorry," Skywarp muttered, before turning to his brother. "Are you crazy? Why does she have to leave? It's not fair."

"Leave?" Jasmine's head shot up, her eyes wide with horror. "What do you mean, leave? I'm not going anywhere."

"Wait until you hear all the facts," Starscream said, walking in. "Then you can decide if this is really the better choice."

"Of course it is," Skywarp protested, but he fell silent upon receiving sharp looks from both his brothers. Quietly he held out his hand, setting it down on the desk, and Jasmine scrambled into his palm without hesitation, still glancing from him to the other two with a worried look stamped into her features.

"Why do I have to leave?" she whispered, feeling tears pooling in her eyes. "I like it here."

"You'll like it better when you return to your people," Starscream said. "Some people came looking for you not long after Skywarp took you away. Apparently you've inherited a lot of money, and there's a family that comes with it. Aunts, uncles, cousins, that sort of thing."

"I don't want to leave," Jasmine insisted, folding her arms, then glancing up at Skywarp. "You won't make me leave, will you?"

"Of course not," Skywarp replied, ignoring his brothers' exasperated ventings. "You only have to leave if you want to, no one is going to make you leave. Right?" He gave his brothers a look that made it clear he was, for once, serious about what he was saying. "She doesn't leave unless she agrees to."

"It would safer for all of us if she did," Starscream said. "She spent a little time with us, had an adventure she can't tell anyone about, and now she should go back before something happens. We were lucky today, but Megatron won't always announce his arrivals, and what will you do during a battle? Take her with you? It's too dangerous for her to be with us, you have to send her back."

"No," Jasmine screamed, jumping to her feet. "I don't want to go back! You can't make me!"

"Skywarp, take her out of here for a bit, let her calm down," Starscream ordered, and before the human could say anything else, the purple mech warped away, ending up on the landing strip outside the base.

"You've done it now," he sighed, looking down at Jasmine. "Starscream doesn't like people yelling at him. He'll probably force me to take you back now."

"But you won't, will you? I want to stay with you, I don't want the money, and I don't want to go live with strangers." Jasmine was crying in earnest now, large tears dripping out of her eyes and running down her cheeks in a steady stream.

"You're going to stay," Skywarp promised. "Hold very still for a moment, okay?"

Jasmine nodded and froze in her seated position.

Very carefully the Seeker transformed into his altmode, ending with the human sitting in the seat in his cockpit. He brought the seatbelt across her lap and snapped the buckle shut. She flinched a little, but otherwise didn't speak.

"Hold on," he said, and raced down the runway, taking off a few astroseconds later. Heading in an almost vertical path, he waited until he was about sixty thousand feet above the ground before leveling out. "Listen, Jasmine, I won't let Starscream take you back. He'll yell a lot at first, but eventually he'll come to like you. Thundercracker already does, I can tell."

"How? He was really mad when I kept asking him questions."

"That's because he's always grumpy when he's doing reports and gets interrupted."

"Oh. I guess I better apologize."

"That can wait until we get this current problem sorted out." Skywarp's voice sounded a little strained. "Unfortunately, my brothers are arguing with me right now about all the cons involved in keeping you here, and they keep insisting you'd be better off-"

"No, I wouldn't." Jasmine snuggled down in the pilot's chair and dried her face. "You won't let anyone hurt me, will you?"

Skywarp was insulted by the very idea. "Of course not."

"Then I'm safer with you than with the people who say they're my family. All they want is the money."

"How do you know?" Skywarp asked, surprised at the girl's comment. It could be true, but didn't orphans usually want a family? He must have spoken the last bit aloud, because Jasmine laughed.

"Of course I wanted a family," she said, patting the dashboard, which tickled.

"What about now? If you stay with us-"

"You're my family now," said Jasmine, smiling. "Right?"

Skywarp considered the suggestion for a moment. "Right," he said at last. "We agreed that pet was a bad idea, and friends don't live with each other all the time, so family would make the most sense. Which makes me no longer the youngest sibling." He laughed.

Jasmine chuckled. "How old are you?"

"Much older than you, and that's all you need to know," he replied. "I make the pyramids in Egypt look young."

"Who's oldest?"

"Thundercracker, but not by much."

"Why not?"

"We were sparked in almost the same moment, all trines are."

"What's a trine?"

"A group of three Seekers who are related and can communicate with each other through a method that most other Cybertronians don't understand and those that do wish they could communicate in the same way because it's impossible to hack."

"Hack? Isn't that something bad that happens to computers?"

"Actually, the word has a slightly different meaning in Cybertronian, but that's the best translation I can come up with. Starscream could explain it better but I wouldn't ask him about it until he's had a chance to calm down about the other thing."

"Why does he want me to leave?"

"Having you here is dangerous for you and us. Remember my leader, how I had to hide you from him? If he found out you were with us, he'd kill you and punish us badly."

"Oh." Jasmine's eyes went wide and she fell quiet. Skywarp didn't bother her for the rest of the flight, knowing she needed time to think. He did, too, but first he had to convince his brothers to let the human stay.


	5. Enigma

Sorry it took me a couple extra days to finish this, I'll try not to let that happen again...though I'll warn you ahead of time - July's chapter will be a little late(or maybe early!), as I'll be in PEI and the first is Canada's Independence Day, so no libraries will be open, which means no internet access.

Many thanks for faving, alerting, and all your kind reviews! I truly appreciate you taking the time to say something about my writing, and any constructive criticism you have to offer will be warmly welcomed.

Without further ado, the belated chapter...

* * *

Chapter Five

Enigma

After waiting ten breems for his brother to return, Starscream realized that Skywarp might well stay away from the base until he promised they would not make the human return if she did not wish to. Venting air, the silver mech contacted his trinemate, deciding that it would be better to give in for now, if only so his processor would stop overworking and let him recharge in peace.

_"The squishy can stay."_

Skywarp all but froze in midair, engines stalling too briefly to disrupt his flight pattern but enough for Jasmine to notice.

"Is something wrong?" the girl asked, placing a hand on the dashboard as she leaned forward to peer out of the cockpit, searching for something that could have made the mech freeze. Nothing but fluffy cloudbanks, for as far as she could see. "Skywarp?"

"You can stay," the Seeker exclaimed, dipping into a spontaneous downward spiral that he pulled out of sharply into a loop-de-loop before flying upside down for a brief moment. He ended with a backwards flip that no human aircraft could have pulled off. "Did you hear me?" Sheer jubilation in his voice bubbled into a laugh he couldn't stop, one soon joined by Jasmine's cheers of relief and delight.

"What changed his mind?" asked Jasmine, wrapping her arms around the harness that held her strapped to the seat, the closest she could come to giving the Seeker a hug.

"I don't know." The question sobered Skywarp a little, and he returned to straight line flying in order to muse on the subject for a few minutes, after which he gave a slight tilt of his wings, his version of a shrug while in midflight. "Screamer doesn't usually change his mind. Maybe TC talked him out of it."

"Thundercracker was nice," Jasmine said, settling down in the seat. Her adrenaline was fading, leaving the girl exhausted. "He showed me how to write our names in Cybertronian. Oh, I forgot to show you the picture I drew." Worry tugged the corners of her mouth down for a brief moment at the thought that Thundercracker might erase it by accident, but the girl's general good spirits wouldn't let the matter bother her too much.

"You drew a picture? What is it?"

"It's a surprise," replied Jasmine, yawning. "I'll show it to you later..." Her voice faded away as the girl fell asleep, curled up in the pilot's seat as best she could despite the restraining harness. Skywarp was cautious on the flight back to the base, not wanting to wake the girl. Warping was not a possibility, not after what had happened the first time he attempted it.

Starscream was waiting on the tarmac when Skywarp landed. The purple mech transformed slowly around the sleeping human; she ended up sprawled in the palm of his left hand, making a rough sound as she breathed in and out.

"Is something wrong?" Skywarp tried to think of what he might have done to cause the human harm, with nothing coming to mind.

"She's snoring," Starscream noted with amusement, alleviating his brother's fear. "Humans tend to do that." Lying there in the other mech's hand, the organic seemed peaceful, a soft smile playing about the corners of her mouth. Almost like a sparkling, except she was much smaller and squishier. What his trinemate saw in the creature, Starscream wasn't sure, but for some reason memories from earlier that day played back in his mind – that of the girl apologizing for something she hadn't done, offering to help despite her meager abilities, and her general acceptance of the Seekers despite how different they were. Perhaps it was because she was an orphan, he reasoned. All humans craved attention and no doubt his brother had given her more in the past twenty four hours than her caretakers probably offered in a year.

Skywarp held Jasmine out to Starscream. "I need to go energon-hunting again, would you please watch her?"

"All right," Starscream said, surprising himself by not being infuriated at the thought of 'watching' a human. Annoyed, yes. A little, anyway. But he allowed his brother to carefully transfer the small warm body from his hand to the silver Seeker's claws. "Don't be gone too long."

"I won't," Skywarp promised, though they both knew he would not – could not – return without energon. "You should get some rest while Jasmine's sleeping."

"I will. Your pet's trailer has been moved into Thundercracker's office, by the way. It's easier to hide under his desk than in your room."

Skywarp's wings drooped, but he nodded. "All right, if you think that's best...Screamer." Laughing, the purple mech took off down the runway, narrowly dodging a burst from his brother's null ray. He transformed and took to the air without touching the tarmac, then disappeared with the signature snap of air rushing to fill a sudden vacuum.

_"Is Skywarp back yet?"_

_ "He just left to fetch more energon," _Starscream replied, surprised that Thundercracker had not known. _"Did you not just order him to do so?"_

_ "No."_

Silence filled their transmission link for a moment, before Starscream said, _"That is unusual."_

_ "Yes, it is."_ Thundercracker shook his head and picked up a fresh datapad. _"Perhaps having the human around is good, Starscream. Skywarp is acting a little more mature than usual."_

Starscream's response was a noncommittal burst of static before terminating their link as he headed to his room for a nice, long recharge.

* * *

A few days later, Thundercracker was the one left watching the human while Starscream recharged in peace and Skywarp went off to hunt down more energon from their dwindling resources.

"Thundercracker?" Jasmine looked up from her latest drawing project. Since Skywarp had told her upon seeing her first picture that she was a great artist, the girl had been doodling most of the time he was not around. Unfortunately, the other twenty to thirty percent of said time was usually spent asking questions of whichever mech she was sitting with, and this was the third time in as many minutes that Jasmine had interrupted Thundercracker's work.

Venting air, the Seeker looked up from the report he was writing. At this rate he would never finish it. "What is it?" he asked, the words slightly sharp until he saw the pensive, almost sad look on the human's face. Setting down the datapad he held, Thundercracker leaned over to see the picture she had drawn. "Is it finished?" Starscream's face bore little resemblance to the silver mech's actual appearance, his brother could only tell who it was by the Cybertronian characters painstakingly drawn under it. "It is a nice one, Jasmine."

Smiling, more at the use of her name than because of the compliment, the girl shrugged. "I'm not very good yet."

"You are making progress with this," he replied, moving one claw to hover over his trinemate's name. "No missed strokes this time."

Her smile growing to a beam of delight, Jasmine ducked her head. "I went slow so I wouldn't mess up. Can I have another datapad? I want to draw you and Skywarp now."

Thundercracker stopped himself before he could correct the girl's grammar and passed the datapad over silently, gaze thoughtful as he watched the human kneel beside the new pad and begin writing his name. Carefully her finger traced each line and curve with painstaking caution, until the characters ran halfway across the screen, a little shaky in places but still almost perfect. When Jasmine looked up with a hopeful smile, Thundercracker nodded, surprising himself as he returned the smile. _Don't get attached to it, it will be gone soon enough,_ he thought, and wiped the expression off his face, busying himself with the datapad he had set down moments before. His scanners picked up the soft sigh of fabric as the girl's shoulders slumped.

"Do you hate me?"

The question surprised Thundercracker, and he didn't understand why his spark ached a little at those words. "What do you mean?" he asked, stalling for time as he tried to figure out how best to answer.

"Do you hate me?" she repeated.

The Seeker hesitated, then shook his head, venting air again. "No." _You just annoy me a little._ For some reason he couldn't speak his thoughts, instead waiting for the human's next question.

"Starscream hates me." The words were a stated fact, and Jasmine kept her gaze pinned on the image slowly taking form under her fingers. "Why?"

Caught off guard, it took Thundercracker a moment to recover. "He doesn't hate you," he lied at last, wishing it was the truth. He knew how his brother felt about having the organic around, though, and the only reason she had not been returned to the orphanage was the damage Skywarp would do if he returned from fetching energon to find his human gone.

"But he won't speak to me, even when I say hello, and he always glares at me. Why?"

_Because your very presence could get him killed, and us along with him, but Skywarp's too much of an idiot to not realize that._ "I do not know. Have you asked him?"

Jasmine shook her head, eyes wide. "No."

_Too scared of him? I don't blame you._ Thundercracker pressed some buttons on his datapad. "Give him time, he will get used to having you around."

* * *

"Hey, get back here!" Skywarp's voice echoed down the hall after Jasmine, who shot a laughing, "Catch me if you can!" over her shoulder before increasing her speed.

Starscream stepped to one side as the human darted past, then had to press himself against the wall as Skywarp went racing by, still shouting after the squishy, who somehow managed to elude the purple mech's claws even though her legs were much, much shorter than his own.

"Skywarp, control that thing!" Starscream yelled, storming into Thundercracker's office and slamming the door. "This is getting ridiculous."

"True," agreed the blue mech. "Skywarp spends more time with the human than he does with us. At least there haven't been any pranks for almost an Earth week."

"That is the _only_ good thing about it." Starscream started pacing back and forth. "I received a message from Megatron this morning."

Thundercracker raised his head from his datapad, interest roused alongside concern. "I did not. What did he say?"

Venting air, the silver Seeker frowned. "Soundwave is coming here."

"When?" The blue mech's face mirrored his trinemate's expression of worry.

"Soon was all he said."

"That is ominous."

Starscream snorted. "It is our illustrious leader attempting to be mysterious."

"What are we going to do about the human?"

"That is Skywarp's problem. Inform him of Soundwave's impending visit and make it clear that if that mech sees the squishy, it leaves."

"There were no problems last time."

The silver mech paused in the doorway. "Which reminds me. If I catch him carrying that creature in his spark chamber again, he will wish Megatron had found out about it."

_"Skywarp, we have a problem."_

_ "Let me guess, Megatron is coming and Starscream doesn't want Jasmine hiding in my spark chamber again."_

_ "How did you know?"_

_ "If you want to have a private conversation, do not hold it over our trine channel."_

_ "You should know better than to eavesdrop on a private conversation,"_ said Starscream.

_ "It is only eavesdropping if the topic doesn't concern myself."_

_ "It didn't."_

_ "Myself or my friends, I mean."_

Striding down the hall, the silver mech shook his head. How Skywarp could view the squishy as a 'friend', he was not sure, but his brother had clung tightly to that decision and there were some things you couldn't argue about with him. _"I'm going to recharge. Skywarp, I want you to make one more energon run before Megatron comes. Thundercracker, make sure the cameras and reports are up to date."_

A few minutes later, when Starscream was deep in recharge, Skywarp contacted Thundercracker on a shielded line. _"Thundercracker, could I ask a favor?"_

_ "The answer is no. I am not hiding your pet for you. She is your responsibility."_

* * *

The cracking sound woke Starscream from a peaceful recharge, and he sat up sharply, scanners on high as he searched for the trap Skywarp had set this time. A sharp noise from his hand caused him to look over, and he found the girl standing beside his claws, which had snapped shut a little too close to her head for comfort.

"What are you doing here?" he growled, returning his scanners to normal. _I told Skywarp before, I'm not watching his pet again._

"Thundercracker is busy, so Skywarp said I could stay with you." Without waiting for an invitation, the girl walked over and climbed into the palm of his hand with a careless ease that said she did not expect him to hurt her. Sitting down in a cross-legged manner, she tilted her head and smiled. "Would you like to play a game?"

"No, I would like to recharge in peace." Starscream dumped her on the floor, then folded his arms when the girl sat up, rubbing her shoulder and wearing a hurt expression. Skywarp had dropped the human's trailer beside his chair, he noted, and pointed at it. "You can take a nap if you like, just stop bothering me."

"No," the girl said, shaking her head. "I'm not tired."

"Then watch television!" the Seeker snapped, no patience left. "I am not babysitting my brother's pet!"

Jasmine scowled. "I am not a pet, and I hate television. How can humans watch that stuff?"

Though he agreed with the squishie about tv shows, Starscream was more than a little concerned by her use of the word 'humans'. "You're a human, figure it out yourself."

"I'm not a human," said Jasmine, shaking her head.

The silver Seeker scooped the squishie up, ignoring her surprised gasp. His optics narrowed as he frowned. Was she playing a joke on him? "Then what are you?"

"I'm a Seeker," she said, sitting down, looking perfectly comfortable now that she'd gotten over the shock of being picked up so quickly.

Starscream's cooling fans turned on as his processors began to overheat, trying to comprehend this ridiculous statement. "You most certainly are not."

"Maybe not on the outside, but Skywarp says-hey!" Jasmine cried out as she was dumped unceremoniously on the ground. The girl scrambled to her feet and stared after the running silver mech. "What's his problem?" she wondered aloud before racing after him, guessing correctly that he was angry at Skywarp. It was not hard to catch up, as Starscream was walking slowly, every footstep loud and heavy.

"Starscream!" Jasmine cupped both hands around her mouth and shouted, trying to get his attention. "What's wrong?"

The mech stopped and glared down at the squishie. "You are not a Seeker, and never will be, is that clear?" He was surprised to see the girl's face fall, and caught a glimpse of water leaking from her eyes before she turned and ran back the way she had come.

_"Skywarp, you better have a good explanation about why the human thinks she is a Seeker."_

_ "What? She does?"_

Skywarp's shocked voice almost convinced Starscream that his brother was indeed surprised by the idea. _"She said you said...something."_

_ "Let me guess, you didn't let her finish speaking before you stormed off looking for me to beat up. Well, I am out on energon collection so you will just have to wait, or ask her to explain what she meant. Nicely."_

_ "Is something wrong? You don't sound like yourself."_

_ "I have a talking shuttle, a cannon-happy slagger and _Optimus Prime_ on my tail. Could this conversation wait?"_

_ "The first two were probably looking for energon, too, but where did Prime come from?"_

_ "No idea. I grabbed some energon, got attacked by Ironhide, almost ran into Skyfire, then Prime showed up out of nowhere and started shooting."_ Skywarp sounded tired. _"I don't suppose you could send Thundercracker for back up?"_

_ "Could you warp out?"_

_ "Don't have enough energy."_

_ "You are carrying energon cubes, Skywarp, do I have to spell it out?"_

_ "Only have one cube, Ironhide interrupted me."_

_ "Thundercracker, go help Skywarp, ASAP."_

_ "Yes, Starscream. Will you be all right-"_

_ "Worry about Skywarp! He is too low on energon to warp. You two have been starving yourselves on my account, and that is going to change as soon as you get him back to base."_

_ "Understood. I am on my way, Skywarp."_

_ "It's about time. Hey, Starscream, what is Jasmine up to?"_

_ "Don't concern yourself with the human right now, Skywarp, concentrate on getting away from those slaggers chasing you."_ Starscream ended transmission before Skywarp could reply, then headed for his room. This business with the human was beginning to get old. Even in the middle of a race for his life, Skywarp seemed more interested in his pet than his own safety.

The silver Seeker returned to his room, automatically scanning it as he entered in case the organic got underfoot. She was in the trailer, though, near the front, probably sleeping. No, her heart rate was up and quiet choking sounds were coming from inside the camper. Starscream shook his head and walked out, recognizing the sounds as crying after a quick internet search. Skywarp could deal with the problem when he got back, until then the Seeker planned on resting somewhere a little quieter.

* * *

Curled up on the large bed, Jasmine tried not to make any noise as she cried, muffling the sound by burying her face in the thick pillows and pulling the heavy comforter over her head. Skywarp was in trouble and Starscream was mad at them both. He hated her, she was sure of it, no matter what Thundercracker said. "All I do is cause trouble," she sobbed, hot tears burning against her skin as they dripped from her eyes in an unstoppable flood. "Maybe I _should_ go back to the humans."


	6. Victoria

Well... This chapter is about a week late, and I apologize for that. It's rather longer than usual, though - does that make up for it being a late? Just a little? Anyway, I'll try to be on time for the next chapter...

Thank you for faving and alerting - it's good to know you're enjoying my story! Thanks ever so much for reviewing, too, I love to hear what you think, whether it is praise or constructive criticism.

(edited 19/5/2011 - forgot the spacers again, how embarrassing)

* * *

Chapter Six

Victoria

Red-eyed and exhausted after a night of little sleep, Jasmine was quiet, barely mumbling a quiet "Hello" when Skywarp greeted her the next morning as she stumbled out of the trailer, rubbing her aching eyes.

"Is something wrong?" the Seeker immediately asked, not believing the girl when she shook her head. Kneeling so he was closer to her height he cocked his head, wondering what could have made the normally cheerful human so depressed. Starscream must have been harsher than he had thought. "Was it something Screamer said?"

A half-shrug was all the confirmation he need, and Skywarp scooped Jasmine up in his left hand in order to hold her at eye level. "Look at me." He waited until the girl had turned her sad brown eyes up to meet his concerned optics. "I promised you could stay with us if you want to, remember? You're family now, whether Screamer likes it or not, and if I need to bash his helm in a few times to get that through his thick processors-" Jasmine's widened eyes made the Seeker's spark skip a pulse, even as his sensors warned him a few seconds too late that his door had been opened. "Good morning, Starscream," he said, claws curling a little around the human in his hand. "How are your wings feeling?"

"Fine," the silver Seeker snapped, optics narrowed. "What were you saying about me? I missed that last part. Something about my processors?"

Skywarp's cooling fans clicked up a notch to compensate for the heat generated by his own racing processors as they tried to come up with a way out of this dangerous situation. In his current state Starscream probably wouldn't start a fight, but there were worse punishments than a few dents and scrapes, and the silver Seeker's processors were functioning well enough to come up with something brilliant and terrible.

"I'm sorry."

Two pairs of red optics looked down at Skywarp's hand, both mechs surprised by these unexpected words coming from the human sitting there.

"I'm sorry," Jasmine repeated when neither Seeker immediately spoke. "I know I'm just a stupid human and I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble and-" her face crumpled, tears glistening in her eyes, as she finished "-you should just send me back to the orphanage, then your boss won't kill you."

Skywarp's wings drooped and he shot Starscream a reproachful look, hoping his trinemate would feel some guilt and maybe even know what to say to this.

"It would make things easier if you returned," Starscream agreed, and the girl bowed her head. "-but-"

_"Soundwave to Starscream. ETA one breem."_

Frozen midsentence, Starscream's wings came up and he narrowed his optics. "Skywarp, put the organic somewhere Soundwave won't find her, because he's going to be here in less than a breem. We can discuss her situation further once this one has been dealt with."

"Soundwave is coming?" Skywarp barely kept the fear from showing in his voice before he switched to their trine channel, where his emotions could be shown without scaring the human. _"Starscream..."_

_ "The human is not to be anywhere near your spark chamber or Thundercracker's, understand? Hide the camper as well, don't worry if you damage the generator, it can be repaired. Now hurry, unless you want that mech to find her for sure."_

_ "Over my dead chassis,"_ Skywarp replied, and stalked off with the camper and human to find a place that might be overlooked by Megatron's communication officer and his possible entourage of symbiotes.

_That is what concerns me_, Starscream thought, heading to the front door, his hologram from before flickering into place to hide the damage on his wings. _"Thundercracker, we have company headed this way."_

_ "I heard. Why would Soundwave come here so soon after Megatron visited?"_

_ "Either our leader forgot something or someone is suspicious."_

_ "You don't think the human might have something to do with it?"_

_ "It wouldn't surprise me if he does keep an eye on the local news, but we have given him no reason to suspect we had anything to do with the abduction. Have we?"_

_ "You blamed the problem with the door on Skywarp and Megatron himself decided the cleaning bot was part of an elaborate prank. I can't think of anything else."_

_ "Neither can I,"_ admitted Starscream. _"You and Skywarp better follow my cue, one wrong word and I at least would be getting reacquainted with the business end of Megatron's fusion cannon."_

_ "Not a pleasant thought. Be careful, Starscream, you are in no condition to be-"_

_ "Stop patronizing me, I can handle Soundwave. You make sure Skywarp keeps his mouth shut."_

* * *

Granted, it wasn't the most perfect of hiding places, but in short notice Skywarp didn't think he could come up with a better one. Jasmine was less than pleased, peering out a window of her camper as the mech began piling some of the lighter scraps of metal on the vehicle as a sort of camouflage.

Sitting back to view his handiwork, the Seeker gave a short nod and waved at the girl, who returned the gesture nervously. "Just stay here and be quiet," he said.

"Okay," Jasmine said, curling up on her bed and closing her eyes, though that did little to help her fear since her mind was more than capable of drawing images of the metal piles collapsing onto the camper and crushing it. The girl wished she could hide where she had before, remembering how warm and safe it had felt, but Starscream apparently didn't think it was a good idea, and Skywarp couldn't or wouldn't antagonize his brother anymore than he already had that day, which left Jasmine in her current situation.

Footsteps faded away, leaving the girl in a dark, quiet place. She could hear soft noise coming from a ventilation shaft, just the whisper of air passing in and out of the cover's grill. After a while Jasmine found her breathing had slowed to match the sound, which was almost drowned out by her pounding heart. Many 'what ifs' were running through her head and the girl could not ignore all of them however hard she tried.

One thing was clear, though. She couldn't stay here. There was only so long they could hide her like this, and no matter how much her heart ached at the thought, Jasmine knew she didn't belong. It would be best to return to the humans, even if it meant dealing with her relatives and the enormous fortune she didn't want. How she would leave, she didn't know. Skywarp would never take her, Jasmine knew that for sure.

* * *

Jasmine had no way of knowing how long it was before someone came to fetch her, she just knew it was long enough to make her stomach growl. She had fallen asleep for a short while, but drifting in and out of bad dreams was no way to get any rest and her eyelids were drooping when footsteps approached. At once she held her breath, unsure whether it was friend or foe entering the room, and hoped that if it was the latter, they would leave quickly without noticing the hidden camper.

"Fleshling, you had better be in here," Starscream grumbled, flicking on the light to make searching a little easier on his optics. His advanced scanning systems required too much energy.

Jasmine hesitated before leaning out of the camper's door to wave at the mech. "Where is Skywarp?"

"Away on business," said Starscream shortly, his processors too busy analyzing recent events to explain where exactly his brother was.

"Oh," Jasmine said, wishing for a heartbeat to have a chance to say good-bye before admitting to herself she couldn't do such a thing and still leave. "That will make it easier," she murmured, more for her own benefit than the mech's, but Starscream's keen audio receptors picked up the words anyway.

"What exactly will his being away make easier?" inquired the mech, moving aside the scrap metal so he could grab hold of the camper and lift it from its hiding place. The girl clung to the door, heart rate increasing as he moved the camper, and Starscream vented air. It was so easy to scare them, he couldn't see why his brother was so delighted to have the human around.

"Can you take me back?" Jasmine asked, her voice quiet enough to make the mech's audio receptors strain to catch her words.

The question surprised Starscream into nearly releasing his hold on the camper, instinct taking over just in time and tightening his grip on it instead. Metal creaked and groaned under the extra stress, causing the girl to squeak in fright, and the mech relaxed his claws a little, then headed out of the room. If he was going to talk with the human, he wanted to do it somewhere he could sit down. They ended up in his room, the vacant camper set on the floor while the human made herself comfortable on an arm of his chair. Starscream settled down with another vent of air, optics focused on the girl.

"I thought you liked it here," he said.

"I do, but it's not safe. I have to go back."

Desolate as the girl sounded, Starscream could not hide a quick smile. Finally she had come to her senses, and if he could get her home without his brothers realizing what he was doing before it was too late, all the better for everyone. Soundwave had been methodical in his scarcely concealed search of the base under the pretense of an inspection. Only an unexpected message from Megatron had drawn the communications officer away before he reached the room the human had been hidden in, and with three symbiotes he had been accompanied by, Soundwave would have found the girl for certain.

"All right," the silver mech said, holding out his hand. "I will take you back at once."

Nodding, Jasmine slowly climbed into his palm, sitting cross-legged until they left the building. Starscream transformed, cautious of his injuries, and the human found herself in a cockpit almost identical to Skywarp's, though she didn't remember the instrument panel having a glass cover over it.

"Do not touch anything and sit still," Starscream ordered as he coasted down the runway and took off, lifting into the air with ease despite his damaged wings. The pain was bearable, he was pleased to note, and when Thundercracker contacted him, desperate to know what his reason for leaving the base was, he replied with a simple, _"I am going for a quick flight. No need to worry,"_ before terminating the connection and setting course for the nearest human establishment.

* * *

It was a short flight, and silent save for the gentle noise the wind made as Starscream cut through the air, a silver arrow on a straight path toward his destination. He landed about a mile from the town, too far out for anyone to notice, and transformed with as much care as before. Kneeling, he placed his hand on the ground.

Jasmine had to try three times to stand before she managed to get to her feet and jump down, landing in a crouch on the grass. The mech was struck for a moment by how small and vulnerable she looked, but reminded himself that this was a human, not a sparkling, and stood, transforming and taking off before Jasmine could finish opening her mouth to speak.

"Good-bye," the girl said quietly, hanging her head, unable to watch the jet vanish into the blue sky. Brushing away the tears spilling from her eyes, Jasmine squared her shoulders and began walking toward the nearby town, hoping she would find someone who could help her reach wherever her relatives were.

* * *

All it took was a step into the gas station's building. Jasmine's latest school picture had been all over the news, and the station's owner recognized her at once.

"Petunia!" he exclaimed, and she winced at the sound of her old name, but gave a small nod and a tentative smile. "Poor child," the man continued, bustling around the counter to give her a gentle hug. "Where did you come from? The desert?"

Jasmine shrugged, unable to speak right then, for she knew the words would break the dam building behind her eyes and release the sadness already threatening to overflow. A few minutes later she found herself sitting on a stool the man had pulled from a closet, nibbling on a granola bar with a bottle of water in her other hand, surrounded by curious townspeople who were trickling in as the news was passed on by the few customers that had been there when she arrived. Everyone had their own theory about how she had gotten to be in their small town, and many wondered aloud if there would be a reward for finding her.

"A stroke of luck for you, Henry," one man said, slapping the station's owner on the back, but the older man simply laughed and shook his head.

"Come on, folks, either purchase what you need or just leave, there's no reason to crowd the poor child like this." He shooed many outside, then moved Jasmine to behind the counter, where she was out of the center of attention.

"Thank you," Jasmine finally managed to say, once Henry had gotten off the phone with the local sheriff, who was going to contact her relatives and perhaps the FBI.

"I don't know what you were doing out there in the desert," Henry replied, smiling and giving her a fond pat on the head, "but that's no place for a little girl. I've got a granddaughter who's just a few years younger than you, out west of here in Garpoint, and if someone kidnapped her I'd be hunting them down just like your relatives have been. You're a very lucky girl, you know."

Taking a bite of granola, Jasmine cast her eyes toward the floor, unable to even nod in agreement. The girl didn't feel lucky, she felt like her heart was breaking in two, and if she thought about Skywarp or Thundercracker or even Starscream, Jasmine knew she would start to sob right in the middle of the store.

"Poor girl, you look exhausted." Henry pointed toward the restroom sign near the back of his store. "Why don't you wash your face before the sheriff gets here? We don't have time for me to take you home for a shower and some decent clothes, you'll have to wait until you reach Bison City for those, but a little cold water should perk you up a bit."

Jasmine took his advice, more because it would let her get away from the stares customers were giving her than because she really cared about her appearance right then. A thin crack ran across the face of the square mirror hanging above the bathroom's sink, but the girl was short enough that she could see herself clearly, the line of fracture cutting through the glass just above her head. Wrinkling her nose, Jasmine glared at her reflection. Of course she couldn't be a Seeker, she didn't look anything like them. The girl sighed and splashed a little water on her face, wincing at the chilly bite, then scrubbed the moisture away with a long piece of paper towel from the manual dispenser.

Someone knocked on the door, causing her to jump. "Yes?" Jasmine ventured, wondering what the problem was, too nervous to open the door.

"A man has arrived to take you to Bison City," Henry announced cheerfully.

Resigned to her fate, Jasmine left the safety of the bathroom to find the customers had been emptied out of the store, the entrance to which was now being guarded by two policemen with folded arms and hard expressions on their faces. A third man in uniform was leaning against the counter, but he straightened as she appeared and gave a short nod.

"Petunia Morray, I presume?"

She nodded in reply, hanging back until Henry's friendly hand propelled her forward to shake the policeman's own outstretched hand.

"I'm Sheriff Wilson. My men and I will escort you to Bison City, where your relatives are waiting. Are you ready?"

"Yes," she said quietly, holding a hand out to Henry, who shook it firmly but gently. "Thanks," the girl mumbled.

Henry laughed, and patted her shoulder. "Take these for the trip," he said, handing her a large bag of chips, a box of granola bars and a six pack of Pepsi. "Share them if you like." When the sheriff reached for his wallet, Henry waved him off. "I've got a granddaughter not much younger than she is out in Bison City. Take good care of her, Sheriff."

"Of course. Have a good day, Henry." Tipping his hat, the sheriff led the way out the door, and Jasmine threw Henry a quick smile before following. The policemen outside fell in behind as they headed for the cruiser sitting by pump number two, and one man darted ahead to pull out the gas nozzle dangling from the cruiser's gas tank. Sheriff Wilson gestured Jasmine into the front seat, his two companions taking up positions in the back, which was cut off from the front by a reinforced glass window. The sheriff pressed a button and rolled the window down enough so he and the others could communicate, then started the engine and pulled into the street. Soon they were on the highway, and Jasmine settled down with the bag of chips, having offered Pepsi and snacks to the policemen, who accepted, despite their superior's muttering about them being on duty.

"You're just jealous because you have to drive," one of the men joked, popping open a soda can and taking a long drink.

Sheriff Wilson snorted and shook his head. "Sometimes I don't know why I keep you on the force."

That comment made the other policemen laugh, and the good-natured bickering went back and forth for the rest of the trip. Jasmine ended up tuning them out, staring at the scenery zipping by the window, wishing she had some kind of distraction that could help prevent her thoughts from wandering back, over and over, to the scene her imagination was creating of Skywarp learning that she had left. It was enough to make her feel like crying, but the girl knew she couldn't start sobbing, the policemen would be concerned and possibly suspicious. Jasmine finally started to count cars, trying to keep track of how many silver, blue and purple cars went by, headed in the other direction or being passed by the faster cruiser. She had counted sixteen silver, twenty blue and three purple vehicles by the time the sheriff turned down an exit from the highway, headed into Bison City.

"Almost there," said Sheriff Wilson, and a few minutes later he left the busy Main Street for a crowded hotel parking lot. After squeezing his cruiser between a pick-up truck and a white van, the sheriff hopped out, followed by his two subordinates, who took up positions on either side of Jasmine once she stepped out of the car, escorting her into the hotel without any wasted time.

If it hadn't been for the policemen surrounding her, the girl would have hesitated in the doorway, but she had no choice in the matter and walked straight in, eyes darting around the spacious lobby in a vain attempt to take in everything at once. A television blared the latest news to her left and a few people were watching the screen with interest. Others were checking in or out at the desk, or picking up their mail. Jasmine was watching the woman behind the desk hand a large package to a man when a loud shriek startled her, causing the girl to step back into one of the policemen, who grunted in surprise and caught her before she could fall.

"Victoria!" The woman cried again, swooping down to wrap her arms around Jasmine, who sneezed at the overpowering scent of the woman's perfume. At once the woman recoiled, holding her at arm's length with a faint look of distaste that turned to simpering gratitude as she turned to Sheriff Wilson. "Thank you ever so much for driving all the way here, Mister...?"

"Sheriff Wilson," he said, holding out his hand. She shook it firmly, nodding to the other two policemen.

"I'm Mrs. Sanders. Thank you for your help, sheriff. If there's anything I can do in return-"

"Just doing our duty, ma'am," he replied, giving Jasmine a pat on the shoulder. "We'll head back now. Good luck, Petunia."

"Her name is Victoria," corrected the woman stiffly. "It was her grandmother's name and what her mother would have called her."

"Good luck, Victoria," the sheriff repeated, with a covert roll of his eyes that Mrs. Sanders didn't catch but the girl did.

Jasmine gave the man a smile in return, then found herself being dragged toward the elevator by Mrs. Sanders before she could even say good-bye, or thank you. The girl looked back and waved, a motion returned by the policemen before they headed outside.

"Wait until you meet your cousins," Mrs. Sanders said, punching the button to call the elevator. "Andrea and Tyler have been dying to get to know you, I'm sure you'll get along well."

Jasmine wasn't so sure, not if they were anything like their mother, but the girl kept her mouth shut and let the woman's babbling about her children flow right over her head as she tried her best not to cry.


	7. Evidence

This rather belated update can be explained in two words - writer's block. Worst I've had in a while. Not sure when the next update will be, as I'm leaving tomorrow on vacation and won't be back to regular internet access until mid-July.

A special note for those reading Revealing Secrets: Please accept my apologies for there being no updates this month. The writer's block was global and much worse for some stories, with RS being the worst hit of the ones I'm currently working on - I think I wrote maybe a hundred words in the next chapter during this entire month. Perhaps a change in scenery will refresh my muse...

Thank you all for reading, faving, alerting and/or reviewing. I love to hear what you think of my story, and I am extremely grateful for your patience with my not-so-consistent updating. Hope you are all having a wonderful summer - or winter, depending on which hemisphere you're from.

* * *

Chapter Seven

Evidence

_"STARSCREAM!"_ The shout over their trinebond jerked the silver Seeker out of his semi-peaceful recharge without warning, and he nearly fell out of his chair. Head ringing from the mental yell, Starscream growled back, _"What is it, Skywarp?"_

_"I'm in the storage room where I left Jasmine, she isn't here! I thought I asked you to watch her while I was gone."_

Deciding a blunt explanation would be best, Starscream replied, _"She left."_

There was a long moment a silence, then a sharp crack as Skywarp appeared in Starscream's room, wings bristling with fury. "What do you mean, she left?" he demanded, voice rising with each spat syllable.

"Do I have to spell it out for you? She went back to the humans. This was an interesting adventure for her, I am sure, but-"

"You're lying!" Skywarp took a step forward and for a second Starscream worried his brother would strike him, but the purple mech merely stamped a foot in frustration, a habit he'd picked up during their sparkling days. "She wouldn't have left without saying good-bye. What happened? Did Soundwave find her hiding place?"

"If he had, would I be here right now?" Starscream pointed out. "No, she left by request."

"Who took her? Thundercracker?"

"No, I did," said Starscream, raising a hand to block the blow aimed at his head. "Are your processors glitching?" he asked incredulously when his brother attacked with his other fist and the silver Seeker was forced to block with his free hand. "That human didn't belong here, she was in danger every moment she was here and we were as well. Now she's back where she belongs-"

"You're wrong," Skywarp said, his voice quieter but with a broken edge that made Starscream's spark throb with sympathy for his brother's grief, even if he didn't think the human deserved such a reaction from the purple Seeker. "This was her home. Why did you make her leave?"

Tired of being falsely accused, Starscream sent his brother a data packet containing the recording of the human's request and watched his brother's expression change from anger to sorrow. Stepping back, Skywarp let his arms fall to his sides and bowed his head. "I'm sorry, Starscream, I shouldn't have struck you."

"You didn't even hit me," Starscream said, venting air as their trine bond became saturated with the other mech's sadness. "Skywarp, if you are going to mourn the loss of your pet, please do it more quietly, I was trying to recharge."

"She's not a pet!"

_"What's going on?" _Thundercracker sent, sensing the negative emotion. His question was laced with concern and Starscream closed his eyes, deciding Skywarp could explain.

_"Starscream took Jasmine back to the other humans_," Skywarp wailed over their connection.

Thundercracker's reaction was not what the silver Seeker expected. _"What?"_ The single word was carried over their bond by a wave of mixed surprise and regret.

_"She asked_," Starscream said, sending his other brother the same data packet he had given Skywarp. _"I did not force her to leave."_

_ "This is...unexpected,"_ Thundercracker said.

_"It's all your fault, Starscream,"_ Skywarp whined. _"If you hadn't yelled at her, she wouldn't have left."_

_ "In that case, it is your fault,"_ replied Starscream. _"After all, you are the one who gave her the idea she was one of us. What were you thinking?"_

_ "We were her family,"_ Skywarp said, his transmission almost too quiet to hear.

_"She is with her real family now. Forget about the human, Skywarp, we can't afford to cross Megatron right now."_

Without a word, Skywarp disappeared from Starscream's room. A moment later the roar of jet engines came from outside as Skywarp took off.

_"You just returned, you need to recharge,"_ Thundercracker sent after his brother, venting air when he received no reply. _"Starscream, what were you thinking?"_

_ "What do you mean?"_

_ "Taking the human back without even allowing her to say farewell."_ There was a hint of wistfulness in the blue mech's transmission, and Starscream felt like pounding his helm against the nearest wall.

_"Don't tell me you got attached to the creature as well?"_

Thundercracker's reply contained a note of surprise. _"You did not?"_

_ "I don't miss the human at all. If you do, remind yourself that she is where she belongs and will be much happier there."_

* * *

Starscream could not have been more wrong. At that very moment, Jasmine was stepping into a hotel room with about as much enthusiasm as she would have had if it had instead been a visit to the dentist for a root canal. During the entire elevator ride – which had not been short due to the constant stops as people got on and off – Mrs. Sanders had been describing with intimate detail the accomplishments of the girl's cousins, who were apparently somewhere between geniuses and Olympic-ranked athletes. Both had won prizes for recent science fair projects, their respective sport teams had come out top thanks to their efforts...the list went on and on.

Jasmine surreptitiously rubbed her sweaty palms on her jeans and waited for Mrs. Sanders to unlock the hotel room's door with a key the woman produced from her tiny handbag. Stubbornly the lock refused to yield for almost a minute, and Mrs. Sanders' face grew redder with each second. At last she heard the expected click and shoved the door open before the lock could change her mind. A little flustered, she ushered Jasmine into the room and shut the door.

"Andrea! Tyler! Come meet Victoria!"

While Jasmine waited for her cousins to appear, she swept the hotel room with her eyes, taking in the living room section – two armchairs and a sofa, all covered in red velvet upholstery – the small refrigerator sitting beside a miniature bar complete with four bar stools, the large bed canopied by crimson cloth on the far side of the room, a shut door marked BATHROOM in sharp gold letters and another door, unmarked, that apparently led to the rest of the suite. It was through this door that her cousins came.

Andrea swept in, a model of grace with her blond hair swept back in a ponytail that bounced against the back of her blue shirt, which matched her shorts in color and the amount of skin it revealed. Jasmine glanced down at her old, stained t-shirt and faded jeans, and hoped she would not have to dress like her cousin.

Or like Tyler, for that matter. He wore black jeans that sagged below his waist and a t-shirt reading "KILL THE MONSTERS" across the front in dripping red letters she guessed were meant to resemble blood splashes.

"Tyler, those clothes are unacceptable," Mrs. Sanders admonished. "I thought I asked you to dress nicely today. No video games for the rest of the day."

Tyler shot Jasmine a scorching glare before retreating through the unmarked door and slamming it shut hard enough for the tasteful paintings hanging on the wall to rattle on their hooks.

"I'm sorry for his behavior," Mrs. Sanders told Jasmine, patting the girl's shoulder. "Don't take it personally, Tyler's just going through a phase."

"He's been going through that phase for six years," Andrea muttered, then smiled when Jasmine glanced at her and held out her hand. "Nice to meet you, Victoria. Welcome to the family."

Jasmine returned the smile and the handshake, though she could tell the other girl's pleasant expression was forced, pasted over the boredom – or was it annoyance? – that she felt. "Nice to meet you, too," she mumbled, trying not to compare this first encounter with her family to the one she had had just a few days ago when Skywarp had taken her from that horrible place humans called an orphanage. Swallowing, the girl let her eyes dart around the room, hoping the sharp movements would prevent tears from pooling again, reminding herself that she was a human, and the Seekers were no more her family than she was a Cybertronian.

"Are you tired?" Mrs. Sanders asked, placing a hand on Jasmine's shoulder. The girl barely stopped herself before she could shake the woman's too tight grip off.

"Yes," she mumbled, shifting from foot to foot. "I...I would like to take a shower, too."

Andrea wrinkled her nose. "Good idea. Where are all your clothes?"

Mrs. Sanders smiled at her daughter. "Unfortunately the orphanage redistributed her things, so we'll be taking her shopping later. Until then, I thought she might be able to borrow some of your things. They might be a little big, but it'll be better than what she's wearing now."

Making a quiet noise of disgust, Andrea shrugged. "Fine, as long as she doesn't mess them up. Where'd you go to get so much dirt on your clothes, Pet?"

The nickname cracked the barrier between Jasmine's real feelings and what she showed. "Don't call me Pet! And my clothes aren't dirty, they're old."

"Sorry," Andrea said, holding out her hand. "They kept calling you Petunia and I guess the name stuck. I won't use it again, promise. Come on, I've got a couple outfits you might like, and the shower is really cool – there's this touchscreen thing that lets you choose the water temperature and type of spray and stuff like that."

Jasmine held out her own hand to shake, knowing things would only get worse if she didn't get along with her cousins. After all, they were her family, and the people she would be living with until she could take care of herself legally. Taking a deep, silent breath, the girl followed Andrea into the next room. At least this life would be better than the one she had at the orphanage.

* * *

Starscream could not get himself to go into recharge, and for once his wings were not the issue. Yes, they still hurt, but he had dulled the local sensors when he first got injured, and it was rare for the pain to keep him conscious. This time, his processor was the culprit, the barrier between the Seeker and the recharge he had been looking forward to since dropping the human off – that is, the first peaceful rest he would have had in a long time, if he could just stop his thoughts from looping in a constant replay of the human's departure.

"I shouldn't even care," he said aloud, safe in the knowledge that Skywarp had left on energon collection and Thundercracker's office was on the opposite side of the base. No one around to hear the Seeker think out loud as Starscream tried to convince himself of something his mind knew but his spark rebelled against with a strength that scared him. "If Megatron had found her, I'd be scrap now." So why did the ghost image in his optics of the human's stricken expression disturb him almost as much as reporting a failed mission to his leader would? No one was going to take a shot at him for doing what he had done, not even Skywarp would go that far, though he _had_ taken the relationship too seriously. No mech in his right mind would consider a fleshling family, but the purple Seeker hadn't had a full bank of processors to begin with. It was entirely possible, however much Starscream hated the notion, that Skywarp would not forget the human as the silver mech hoped, and might even try to contact her, which would cause problems with not only the humans but also the Decepticons once Soundwave got wind of it, and with that mech it wasn't an 'if' he learned the truth, only a matter of time.

Shifting in his chair, Starscream leaned his chin against the back of one hand and glared at his door until he imagined smoke was leaking from the metal. Impossible, as his optics were not equipped with lasers, but if his frustration could have manifested it would have no doubt caused an explosion large enough to wipe out a good section of the base. "What am I supposed to do?"

His processors went in circles for another breem, then jumped onto a satellite signal and drew the passing information down to play through Starscream's mind as clearly as if he were watching the image with his optics. At first he didn't understand the significance, then noticed a keyword he hadn't realized he had set and backtracked, running the recorded signal from the beginning again.

The human female speaking was unremarkable beyond her dress, which was a vivid shade of crimson that resembled the shade of Decepticon optics. Starscream dismissed her appearance as unimportant and focused on the words coming from her mouth.

_"We are as pleased as you must be to learn that child heiress Petunia, now known as Victoria Sanders, has been found and returned to the family she has missed for so long. The details surrounding her return have not been released to the press at this time, but eyewitness reports from the orphanage where she was kidnapped suggest those responsible for her disappearance may have been in a plane of some kind. The FBI have not yet turned up any leads to the kidnappers and if you have any information, please contact them using the number at the bottom of the screen. With any luck, they'll soon be behind bars, and Victoria will be able to settle into a normal, happy life like the little princess she is."_

Humans didn't always share the truth, Starscream mused, noting how similar that was to Cybertronians – Decepticons, at least. Autobots, with their 'freedom for all sentient beings' and honorable code, might withhold truth 'for the greater good', but they would not have blatantly lied as the human female had just done. He knew the girl had not known her family so she would not have missed them.

A few minutes on the human's primitive replica of a data transferring web – better known as the internet – soon roused Starscream's curiosity. Apparently the girl's aunt had gotten custody, because she had two children near the same age and the next nearest relative was not even married. Jasmine-Petunia-Victoria, whatever name she went by now, had declined to comment to the press when approached that afternoon, speaking to the reporters with her aunt as a proxy. They didn't even get pictures, so an old one had been dug from the orphanage's files. The sullen girl who all but hung her head in the photo barely resembled the human who had been so concerned about his wings and delighted by the attention Skywarp gave her and had even managed to distract Thundercracker from his work for a bit, a difficult feat even for the blue mech's brothers, yet she had done it with ease.

Starscream caught himself trying to imagine how the girl looked now and erased the image before it could fully form, instead focusing his energy on looking deeper into the process through which they had tracked her down in the first place. Most of the files were encrypted, but human coding was ridiculously easy to crack and the Seeker had no trouble finding the information he was searching for – or, rather, the lack thereof. His scientific side didn't often make an appearance, suppressed by the warrior he had become, but Starscream saw right off how poorly the humans had documented the search. According to the data he did locate, the fortune was meant to be passed to the deceased man's son, who had died in a car accident a few years ago. The son left behind a divorcee with no children, or so the authorities believed until Mrs. Sanders approached them with information that explained her brother had had an affair about a decade ago with an old high school sweetheart, a situation that had caused the aforementioned divorce.

Things got more complicated from there – the 'sweetheart' had not had a documented abortion but when contacted said she had not kept the child, either, and the hospital records had been misplaced. It took several months to sort this out, then it was discovered that the child had been almost under their noses the entire time, in one of the last orphanages existing within the United States. Skywarp's timing could not have been worse, as the authorities arrived a couple days after the mech had taken the girl. The subsequent hunt had grown to include the FBI, who did a better job filing information, what little they had, anyway. Their explanation for the 'metal monster' the eyewitnesses saw was mass hysteria.

One thing had Starscream's optics narrowing in thought – what did Mrs. Sanders gain from this? If the money would have simply passed on to her because her brother was dead, she would not have gone through so much trouble to hunt down his illegitimate child. According to the will, the money would be held in trust until the son's heir was legally an adult. A little further digging found the ambiguity Starscream had been searching for. Mrs. Sanders hadn't been on good terms with her father if this was anything to go by – it stated that in the event of his son having no heirs the money would be donated to various charities. However, nothing spoke of what would happen if the heir died before turning eighteen. Starscream couldn't believe such an elementary mistake had been made, but it was quite visible if you knew where to look and Starscream would bet his next energon ration on Mrs. Sanders knowing of the loophole.

If his hunch was correct, Starscream mused, it was quite possible the human girl was in danger. Not immediate, since it would be suspicious if she died too soon after being found, but with the help of a good lawyer Mrs. Sanders might be able to exploit the poor wording of the will to make herself or her children the next heirs should her niece suffer an untimely death.

Speculation wasn't going to do him much good, though, and Starscream abruptly disconnected his link to the internet. No need to worry about the human, she had left and he had more important things to worry about, like keeping his brothers busy enough that they didn't think to look into the matter as he had. It was unlikely Skywarp would notice anything unusual but Thundercracker might, and the blue mech was smart enough to uncover the truth, or what Starscream very much suspected to be the truth. Thundercracker would not keep it to himself, though, and if Skywarp thought the human was in danger, Starscream would bet his next _two_ energon rations on his brother flying to the rescue, an action that would no doubt land all three Seekers in more trouble than they would be able to handle.


	8. Identity

No, I don't have a good excuse for taking so long in updating...just college/work-study and life in general. Hoping to update at least once more before I return to the Pit - er, I mean, earning my bachelor's degree.

As always, please forgive any errors you notice and feel free to point them out! Sadly, I'm only a human and thus cannot be perfect.

Thank you for alerting, faving, reviewing or simply reading, I really appreciate it and I hope you continue to enjoy my work.

Oh, and since I haven't said this in a while...

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Transformers franchise. If I did, I wouldn't be going to college - or if I still were, I wouldn't have work-study! Also, characters not from said franchise are my own, please request permission to use them. Thanks!

* * *

Chapter Eight

Identity

A hot shower, the first she'd had in almost a week, put Jasmine in a much better mood, and she did not complain when her cousin offered a pair of shorts and a t-shirt that had seen better days. Considering the condition her jeans and shirt were in, the girl half-wondered if they would even survive a good tumble in the washer. Compared to them, the pale blue shirt and dark blue shorts – which would have been quite short on Andrea but fell lower on Jasmine's smaller legs – were almost brand new, and though they made the girl resemble her cousin a little more than she would have preferred, Jasmine did not really mind.

"Victoria, you look lovely," Mrs. Sanders gushed when the girl finally exited the bathroom in a wreath of steam. "Did you thank Andrea for lending you some things? We really must go shopping, but it's time for dinner, so that will have to wait. I hope you don't mind. What would you like to eat? We can have something brought up if you like, or there's a dining room on the first floor with exquisite service. The food is delicious."

Overwhelmed, Jasmine took a silent, deep breath before answering one question at a time. "Yes, I did. No, I don't mind. What do they serve? I can't eat meat."

"Yes, I believe the matron mentioned something like that," Mrs. Sanders sighed. "I'm sure there are plenty of vegetarian options on the menu. Andrea, Tyler! Put on something nice, we're going downstairs for dinner tonight."

Andrea appeared moments later without a change in clothing, though she had released her hair from the ponytail and applied some lipstick, along with some other makeup Jasmine wasn't sure the name of but could tell was there because of the different colors now spotting the older girl's face, including blue shading around her eyes and smooth tan where a small red bump had been earlier.

"Want to borrow my makeup?" Andrea asked, noticing Jasmine's stare.

Face reddening, the girl shook her head. She had always disliked sunscreen and hand lotion for their shared greasiness and had a feeling makeup was similar in composition, at least to the point of staying on her skin and feeling weird. Jasmine forced her hands to unroll from the fists they had formed at the thought of willingly covering her skin with oily substances, and took a step toward the suite's door.

A door slammed behind her, making the girl jump, and she turned to find her other cousin slouching against the door he'd just shut, scowling. He had changed to less baggy pair of jeans and a plain black t-shirt, a combination which Mrs. Sanders scrutinized for a moment before approving it with a short nod.

"Head on down, you three, I'll be just a minute," she said, shooing them toward the door, and Jasmine found herself out in the hall with her cousins before she could protest.

Warily, the girl eyed them, wondering if they would drop the act yet, and she was not disappointed.

"You ever get me in trouble again and I'll kill you," Tyler growled before running to the elevator and jabbing the call button.

Shaken, Jasmine took a hesitant step after him, only to be stopped by Andrea's hand clamping down on her shoulder.

"You might be family, but that doesn't mean we have to like you," the older girl hissed. "Mom said to be nice, but if you ever cause any problems for me like you did for Tyler, I'll make your life a living-"

There was a soft click as the hotel room's doorknob turned behind them, and Andrea relaxed her grip, patting Jasmine's shoulder while she smiled. "See?" she was saying when her mother came into the hall. "Tyler's getting on without any trouble. There's no reason to be scared of elevators."

"I'm-" Jasmine cut off her protest before it came from her mouth, knowing it would be useless to argue. Her suspicions had been right all along, but she refused to let her shoulders slump, not willing to give her cousin the satisfaction of seeing her earlier words had struck home.

"Oh!" Mrs. Sanders gasped and wrapped the girl in a quick hug. "I'm so sorry, Victoria, I didn't realize you had a thing about elevators. If you like, I can speak to management, I'm sure they would let us switch rooms."

"It's fine." Disentangling herself from her aunt's clutches, Jasmine headed for the end of the hall, where there was a flight of carpeted stairs. "I'll meet you down there." Without waiting for a reply, she took off running, ignoring the woman's shout of protest.

"Don't run, you could hurt yourself and it's not-" Mrs. Sanders stopped when she realized her niece was not about to listen, and shook her head at her daughter. "Honestly, Andrea, could you have stayed civil with her at least until we reached home? I know you wanted to go on that trip with your friends, but-"

"Why couldn't you have just flown her home? Tomorrow's my birthday and instead of going to the beach I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere..." Andrea sniffled, her voice a soft, pleading whine as she followed her mother into the elevator that Tyler had been holding for them. "Can't you fly me home? I'll behave, I swear."

"No." Her voice firm, the woman frowned. "I'm sorry, Andrea, but like it or not Victoria is part of our family and I expect you to treat her as such, understand? Otherwise I might take another look at that boarding school your father is so interested in."

Tyler's smirk vanished when his mother added, "That's goes for you, too, Tyler Henry, and if either of you two misbehaves again I will ground you both for the rest of the summer. Is that clear?"

Unhappily, they both nodded, sharing a look like only siblings could, a swift glance that told each that the other had the same thought in mind. Somehow, their newfound cousin was going to pay.

* * *

Hugging the shadows was a trick Jasmine had picked up while at the orphanage as a way of avoiding the bullies and the matron, and she had never been happier to have the talent for it than when she reached the first floor and found the lobby full of newspapermen and reporters. Keeping her head down, long hair falling like a curtain to shield her face, the girl swiftly navigated the crowd to reach the dining room, which looked more like a restaurant than the cafeteria she had imagined. Candles flickered on the tables, which were draped with scarlet fabric that matched the chair seats, the overhead lighting dim enough to lend a romantic feel to the place. Edging her way across the carpet toward an empty table, Jasmine was ambushed by a waiter dressed in a black uniform accented with a crimson tie.

Giving a short bow, the man inquired, "How may I be of service?"

Unsure how to answer, Jasmine's eyes darted toward the entrance, wondering if she should go back and wait by the elevator. No, she didn't want to get caught in the mob outside, especially not with her family, who the girl suspected would enjoy the attention far more than she would.

"A table?" the waiter suggested, smile never wavering as he led her toward the same table she had been aiming for. "Will someone be joining you, your parents, perhaps?"

"They're dead," Jasmine said shortly, ignoring his hastened apologies. "My aunt and cousins will be down soon," she amended, taking the seat he drew out for her. "Thanks."

Smile almost returned to normal, the man nodded and handed her a gilt-edged menu. "Please let me know if you have any special dietary requirements when you order. To drink would you like water or perhaps a soda? We also have tea and coffee available, or milk or juice if you would prefer."

Jasmine hesitated, running over the options in her mind. Carbonated drinks were a rarity in the orphanage, but she had never cared much for the sugary sweetness and the one she had drunk in the police car had been more than enough. Tea and coffee were out because caffeine sometimes did funny things to her head, and milk was firmly associated with breakfast and oatmeal in her mind, not a pleasant thought at dinnertime. Still, after drinking nothing but water – and the solitary soda – since she had gone to stay with the Seekers, Jasmine was willing to try something else. "What kinds of juice?"

"Apple, orange, cranberry and grapefruit."

"Cranberry, please," Jasmine said, having never tried it before, then busied herself with the menu while the waiter went to fetch the drink. Some of the names she couldn't pronounce, and the girl suspected they were foreign terms meant to make the food sound classier.

She was wavering between spaghetti and garlic bread or tomato soup and toasted cheese sandwiches when Mrs. Sanders, Andrea and Tyler arrived, slight disheveled, as though they had forced their way through the crowd outside. Jasmine didn't glance up when they sat down, and barely listened to their chatter about the craziness in the lobby (Tyler's wording), and whether they should have worn more fashionable evening attire (Mrs. Sanders), and suggestions that they should have accepted some of the interviews being requested (Andrea).

A quick glance toward the dining room's entrance told Jasmine their passage had been noticed far more than her own, if the number of people trying to get in was anything go by. Someone had called security and two guards were blocking the way for everyone who wasn't a hotel employee or a current guest.

"Have you decided yet, Victoria?" Mrs. Sanders asked.

Jasmine turned back to find that while she had been distracted by the drama occurring a mere twenty yards away, the other three at her table had given their orders to the waiter, who stood waiting patiently for her own request. The girl's stomach knotted a little. She knew they would have to leave the same way they came in and the thought of facing that horde made what little appetite she had disappear. However, the barely veiled impatience on her aunt's face made it clear to Jasmine that she was expected to enjoy the meal and the girl ordered the soup and sandwiches in a voice that held not a hint of the defeat she felt.

* * *

Skywarp had not returned, over a joor had passed, and Starscream still could not recharge properly. Thundercracker had left him alone after pointing out in a few terse words that his brother should never have gone flying with his wings in the condition they were, and the total silence from his trinebond was almost disconcerting. The silver Seeker was not sure if his brothers were ignoring him or simply busy with their own problems or giving him space, and his processor drove itself crazy for a couple breems trying to calculate the probability of this being a version of the 'silent treatment' humans seemed to hate so much. He could almost sympathize, but squishies did not – could not – have the same connection as he did with his brothers. The complete lack of communication was beginning to concern him. Not even emotions were getting through, and Skywarp at least should have been throwing anger, sadness and frustration at him in waves. Thundercracker had never been so juvenile, but their younger brother could and did use the tactic upon occasion to show Starscream just how angry he was with whatever the silver Seeker had done to annoy him at the time.

Starscream was half-tempted to contact his brothers himself, but the silence, uneasy as it felt to him, remained undisturbed for the moment. If he did get attacked by Skywarp, he might let slip the information he had discovered, and although he had reservations about using it, he doubted his brothers would. They were more attached to the human than he had expected, and he admitted to himself that it might take as much as an orn for his trine to return to normal. Perhaps longer. Not for the first time, the Seeker berated himself for letting his brother keep the human at all, it had caused even more trouble than he had expected.

Not to mention the visions he kept seeing, ghost images in his optics of the girl's face, smiling and frowning, and his least favorite snapshot of them all – her dispirited look when she agreed to return to the humans. It was for the best, he had argued then, yet he couldn't shake the feeling he usually only got when he lied to his brothers. He was too exhausted to think straight, Starscream told himself, but even that excuse felt weaker than it had the time before.

"The probability of my hypothesis being correct is only about eighty percent," the Seeker said aloud, then dropped his head into his hands as his foolish memory banks drew out the success percentages calculated for every mission he'd taken in the past few orns. Many had been under eighty, and most had been completed successfully, save for a few spoiled by the surprise appearance of Autobots, who almost never failed to destroy his carefully laid plans.

Perhaps he would have convinced himself to say nothing, had not a thin shadow of grief whispered over his trinebond right then. Skywarp could no longer blanket all his emotions, apparently, and Starscream sighed, imagining what would happen should his brother learn of the human's untimely demise. It was unlikely Skywarp would ever figure out the cause of such an event, but Starscream was beginning to understand his brother had hidden depths the silver Seeker had never before glimpsed. Should Skywarp discover the truth, Starscream had a bad feeling the purple mech would take a long time in forgiving him for not sharing it sooner. Starscream vented air and began composing a short message containing all of the pertinent information. He would say nothing to his brothers until the girl had been removed from her aunt's custody. Where she went after that, the Seeker refused to care. As long as the human authorities did their job, the girl would end up somewhere much safer, most likely back where she started, a penniless orphan. At least it was better than being a dead heiress, Starscream mused, and sent the message before he could change his mind.

* * *

Megatron was not surprised when Soundwave entered the Nemesis's war room without announcing his presence, scanners could tell him when the mech was approaching and the communication officer rarely wasted words in such a manner. What did cause Megatron a moment's concern was the fact Soundwave did not immediately explain his reason for being there. Instead the blue mech stood in front of his leader, silent and unmoving.

At last Megatron broke the silence. "What is it, Soundwave?"

"Disturbing news, Lord Megatron." Without further explanation, the communication officer sent a small packet via their commlink, then waited for his leader to open it and survey the contained information.

"This appears to be an anonymous tip delivered to a human police station by email," Megatron said, a sharp edge to his voice. "Why would I be interested in this?"

"Look closer, Lord Megatron. The email traced an unusual path."

"What about it? Humans are an abnormal race, it stands to reason that their inventions are the same."

"No origin," Soundwave replied, as though that explained everything.

"I see," Megatron said a moment later. "Does that matter? The human who sent it probably covered his tracks."

"Cybertronian. Left traces."

"Who?" Megatron demanded, claws curling into fists. "And why would a mere child interest the Autobots?"

"Decepticon signal in traces. Unable to identify."

"A _Decepticon_?"

"Yes." Soundwave made no further comment, merely waited for orders.

"Keep an eye on this human," Megatron said, strolling across the room to sit in his chair. "And continue monitoring as you have been. Let me know if you discover anything else unusual."

With a short nod, Soundwave left the room, receiving no gratitude for a job done well so far, and expecting none.

* * *

Policemen shoved their way through the crowd of reporters just as dessert was being served at Jasmine's table. A forkful of black forest cake filled the girl's mouth a second before the blue uniforms stopped beside her table, and one man asked, "Are you Victoria Sanders?"

Unable to speak, she nodded, chewing, then swallowed. Delicious as the dessert was, it turned to ash and clogged her throat. Jasmine began to cough.

"What is the meaning of this?" Mrs. Sanders demanded as the policemen surrounded the table.

The man who had spoken placed a gentle hand on Jasmine's shoulder. "We have reason to believe this girl was falsely identified."

"WHAT?" the woman shrieked, jumping to her feet. "How dare you suggest such a thing! She's the spitting image of her dear departed mother."

"The information we have received says otherwise. A DNA test will be necessary, with her permission."

"You mean my permission. I _am_ her legal guardian."

"Only if the DNA test returns positive," replied the officer. "Until, we're taking her into custody and you will be remaining at this hotel, after visiting the station for a few questions."

"We have a flight home tomorrow evening-"

"That will have be postponed, pending on the test results and, if they are negative, the court case."

Andrea's and Tyler's mouths fell open, speechless, but their mother continued to rant. "You can't be serious, this is in violation of-"

"Impersonating another person is illegal," snapped the officer. "Now, you can come with us quietly or I will have my officers handcuff you and your two children."

"What about her?" Mrs. Sanders jabbed a finger in Jasmine's direction and the girl flinched back. The hand on her shoulder tightened a little, steadying her.

"She will stay at the station for the time being. Come on, Victoria."

Dazed, Jasmine got to her feet. Things were happening too fast again, and she felt sick, the soup and cheese sandwiches fighting to leave the way they'd come in. Without protest, the girl let the police surround her in an escort that hustled her through the horde of reporters toward the front door.


	9. Numb

Planning to update at least once more before the end of this month, since come January I'm back to the daily grind of college. Those of you who following Revealing Secrets, I should have another chapter up either tomorrow or the next day...having a bit more trouble with that one.

Thank you for your lovely reviews, for faving and/or alerting this fic, and for simply reading! Please help yourself to the complimentary hot chocolate and cookies (iced tea/coffee and ice-cream for those of you in the warmer parts of the world), courtesy of my recent baking spree in preparation for Christmas.

* * *

Chapter Nine

Numb

Jasmine was quiet during the ride with the police, speaking only when they asked her a few questions about her family – none of which she was sure how to reply to now. Having always considered herself an orphan until just a few days ago, the girl had been slowly adjusting to the fact she had relatives. Before, when she had been kidnapped – rescued? – adapting to her new situation had been easy enough. With her world turned upside down yet again, though, Jasmine could not quite bring herself to hope she was headed to a better place. If she returned to the orphanage, there would be questions from the other children and the matron. Or perhaps they would send her to a different orphanage. The possibility that she might still go to live with the Sanderses did not even occur to the girl, she had a good feeling she had seen the last of them, the only thing that made her current circumstances bearable.

"Here we are," the driver said, pulling to a stop beside the police station. "Out you get."

Jasmine followed them quietly into the large white building, keeping her head down as they led her through several halls, stopping once to fill out paperwork. She was asked to sign a few things, which led to a brief dilemma about having a minor sign papers. Eventually, since they had no other family members available and they were unsure who her actual guardian was, the argument died out and the girl was allowed to scratch her name onto the dotted lines with a pen.

Too scared to inquire what the papers were for, Jasmine was glad when the clerk handling the paperwork gave her a quick smile and said, "These will let the bloodsucking reporters know what they can and can't say about your case."

"Oh." Jasmine wished she dared ask what was allowed, but she kept her mouth shut and walked on when urged by the police officer escorting her.

"We don't have anywhere for you to stay," he apologized, closing the clerk's office door behind them. "I'd rather not stick you in a cell, since you aren't a prisoner. If you're all right with it, I'll set a cot up in one of the offices we don't use."

The girl shrugged, not caring where she slept. A yawn stretched her mouth open, and the man gave a quick smile.

"Tired? I'll get that cot now." He ushered her into a small room, populated by a bare desk and a lonely chair that let out a puff of dust when Jasmine collapsed in it. "Wait here, I'll be right back," the police officer told her before leaving.

Yawning again, Jasmine drew a finger through the white layer of dust on the chair, leaving behind random dark markings, while she waited. After a few minutes, her etches took on a more familiar shape, that of the three Cybertronian symbols that made up her name. One for flower, with the Seeker and trine symbols succeeding it.

She had just put the finishing touches to the last glyph when the police officer returned, bearing a folding cot, blankets and a pillow.

"Here," he said, setting the blankets and pillow on the desk, not noticing the symbols he was inadvertently covering.

Jasmine flinched, then sighed quietly and watched the man set up the cot. It took him less than a minute, and once he had finished, he gestured toward it, rubbing his neck awkwardly.

"There you go. If you need a bathroom, there's one just down the hallway, and if you get hungry sometime tonight, just follow your nose to the break room. There's coffee and tea and usually bagels or donuts, and the snack machine has some good stuff in it. Do you have any money?"

She shook her head, eyes widening when he dug through his wallet before dropping several five dollar bills into her hand. "Thank you," she murmured, awed by the gift.

He smiled. "If you need anything, just look for someone wearing a uniform and ask. Everyone knows you'll be staying here for a bit. You going to be all right for now?"

She nodded, tucking the money into her pocket. "Thank you," she said again, then scooped the blankets off the desk and began to make up the cot.

"Good night," the officer said, and left, leaving the door ajar. Halfway to his own office, he remembered something and returned to find the girl had already fallen asleep, the worry and sadness erased from her face as she disappeared into a dream more pleasant than her current reality. Shaking his head, he closed the door again and ambled down the hall.

* * *

_She was sitting on Starscream's chair again, perched on the edge of an arm, but with no fear of falling, because she knew the mech reclining beside her would catch her if she slipped. Looking up, she found the Seeker's red eyes – optics, she corrected herself – were dimmed._

_ "Starscream," she said, annoyed that he had fallen asleep during their conversation about...what had they been discussing? The girl couldn't remember, but it didn't matter. She just wanted to talk with someone, and Starscream was the only person available._

_ When the mech didn't stir, she raised her voice a bit. "Starscream?" Though she repeated his name several more times, there continued to be no response, and Jasmine's stomach knotted with fear. What was wrong?_

_ Jumping down, she landed on the palm of his hand, wincing from the impact against hard metal. A quick climb got her up his arm to his shoulder, where she was careful not to touch his wings as she shouted directly into the spot on his head where his ears would be if he were human. "Starscream, wake up!"_

* * *

Instead, Jasmine woke herself, heart pounding. Her last words still rang in her ears and the girl wondered if she had yelled them out loud, but no one came to investigate, so if she had shouted, nobody had heard. The dream still fresh in her mind, Jasmine decided she didn't want to go back to sleep, no matter how tired she was.

Wrapping a blanket around her shoulders, the girl shuffled into the hall and searched for the bathroom. After completing her business there, she did as the police officer had told her before and followed her nose to the break room, where she found a half-full box of donuts on the table. Helping herself to two, a chocolate glazed and a jelly, Jasmine found a chair nearby to sit in while she enjoyed her quick meal.

Though the donuts filled her stomach and left her feeling much better, they made her mouth dry, so she returned to the table for a mug. Neither coffee nor tea much appealed to her, but she wasn't sure if it was safe to drink out of the bathroom sink, so the girl filled the mug a quarter of the way with coffee and added several spoonfuls of sugar and enough creamer to actually thicken the coffee to a consistency similar to soft pudding. A little hot water sorted that problem out, and when Jasmine tasted the concoction, she determined it was drinkable.

Taking another donut and a napkin from a pile beside the mugs, the girl retreated down the hall, only to find that she couldn't remember which room she had come out of. After a few minutes of wandering up and down, she finally found the bathroom she had used and managed to work out where the office was from there, but the incident made her more than willing to stay put for the rest of night.

A sugar rush from the donuts, combined with the caffeine from the small amount of coffee she had consumed, ensured Jasmine stayed wide awake. Unfortunately, she had no way to spend those hours except lying on her cot and thinking, and her thoughts ran in circles trying to puzzle out what the dream had meant. Had the Seekers forgotten her already? Was Starscream in trouble, or, worse, dead from the injuries or because his boss had found out about her? Why had she dreamed about Starscream in the first place, when he had made it clear he didn't care about her at all? If she could have chosen any of the Seekers, Jasmine would have rather dreamed about Skywarp or Thundercracker, who at least had accepted her as...what? A friend? Family? A Seeker? Part of their trine? Remembering the symbols she had drawn, Jasmine jumped to her feet and flicked the light back on, but the dust – along with the glyphs drawn in it – had been wiped from the desk when she moved the pile of blankets.

A small spatter of powdered sugar from the donut she had brought back to eat caught her gaze, and Jasmine poked at it for a bit, but there wasn't enough to draw in. Frustrated, she began rummaging through the desk drawers in hopes of finding some paper and maybe a pen or pencil, but they were as empty as the room. The girl considered asking one of the police officers for some things to write with, but she didn't want to explain why she wanted them, so in the end she simply collapsed on the cot again and closed her eyes, trying her hardest to fall asleep.

* * *

Starscream came out of his recharge cycle with a jolt, spark pulsing faster than normal. At first he wasn't sure why he had woken early, then felt the telltale ping of someone trying to comm him and answered. The mech on the other side wasn't one to mess with. _"Yes, Soundwave? Is there a problem?"_

_ "Information leading to newfound heiress sent by Decepticon,"_ Soundwave replied.

_"What are you talking about?"_ Starscream demanded with just the right amount of confusion and annoyance. Inwardly, he cursed himself for not covering his tracks well enough. An amateur's mistake, and one that would cost him dearly if Soundwave found enough evidence to point in his direction.

_"You are responsible for message to human authorities."_ It sounded like a statement, but so did everything else the communications officer said, so Starscream continued to bluff.

_"Why would I do such a thing?"_ he snapped. _"The only thing squishies are good for are squishing, if you catch my drift. Better recheck your facts."_

The connection broke abruptly, but Starscream didn't dare relax yet. _"Thundercracker, Skywarp!"_ he sent over their personal channel.

_"Yes?"_ replied the blue mech a moment later. _"Is something wrong?"_

Skywarp chimed in a few beats behind their brother. _"What's up, Screamer?"_

_"If Soundwave contacts you, deny all knowledge of the human."_

_ "Of course,"_ Thundercracker said. _"I am surprised you feel like you must remind us. Is something wrong?"_

_"No."_ Starscream ended their conversation as suddenly as Soundwave had, then leaned back in his chair, processor racing. It was too risky to try erasing the paths his message had taken again, the communications officer might catch him at it and that would be more than enough evidence to bring Megatron's wrath down upon his trine. He didn't even dare check to see if anything incriminating had been left behind in his haste to cover his tracks.

Worst of all, Soundwave had reawakened all the memories the Seeker had been trying so hard to suppress. Shuttering his optics could not hide the images from his vision, and Starscream dropped his head into his hands and groaned. If it were possible to time travel, he would have gladly hopped back just far enough to kill the human before Skywarp even brought her home. And yet, that thought made his spark flicker with sorrow, and the Seeker found himself wondering if he could do such a thing, even if it were an option.

* * *

Several days passed. Jasmine fell into a semi-normal routine. The first morning she had woken to find several treats on her desk – puzzles, books, paper and crayons, along with a still-warm Egg McMuffin and a milkshake. She inhaled the latter and dismantled the former before eating everything but the meat, then occupied herself with a book until someone came to check on her and bring lunch. No word had come about the court case, save for a date being set for a few days later, so Jasmine remained in the office, entertaining herself as best she could, trying not to bother the police anymore than necessary.

She read all the books the first day, completed the puzzles the next, then spent hours the third day drawing the Seekers over and over. First a group portrait, with herself sitting in Skywarp's hands. Then individual pictures, each labeled carefully with their individual name as best she could remember it – the long strings of complicated glyphs mostly escaped the girl's memory, but the Seeker and trine symbols she remembered, along with a few of the simpler characters from their names.

Once they were done, Jasmine hesitated, then added their names in English underneath the Cybertronian. Her stomach growled, reminding her that lunch had been several hours ago and dinner would be on its way soon. Not wanting the police to see her drawings in case they asked too many questions, the girl tucked them under the pile of unused paper and began sketching a bouquet of flowers on another sheet.

Her dinner arrived a short time later, carried by the same police officer from the first day. He set down the paper bag, then studied her flowers while the girl unpacked her evening meal. Salad, grilled cheese and a milkshake, with a small bowl of vanilla ice-cream covered in hot fudge for dessert.

"I wish you had told us about your allergy sooner," the man apologized again, still remorseful about the disastrous first day, which had included the Egg McMuffin as well as a hamburger for lunch – she had eaten the pickles and the bun, and devoured the accompanying fries – and a steak sandwich for dinner – which was when Jasmine had finally gotten a chance to explain that she was allergic to meat.

"It's fine," the girl said automatically, taking a bite of the toasted sandwich. Warm cheese oozed out the sides onto her fingers, but she didn't mind.

"This is a very nice picture," he said, tapping her bouquet. "Where did you learn to draw like that? Did you take a class in school?"

Jasmine shook her head, eyes wide. "I just draw," she said around a mouthful of bread and cheese, then swallowed, face reddening. "Excuse me."

He chuckled. "Don't worry, you've got better manners than a lot of the people I deal with." Heading toward the door, he glanced over his shoulder. "You need more books or puzzles or something?"

"Puzzles," she said, since the books had not been the most interesting in the world, and it was easier to pretend to be working on a puzzle than reading a book. "Big ones?"

"I'll see what I can do," he promised, and shut the door, then opened it a moment later. "I almost forgot, you're going to be in court tomorrow afternoon. Your lawyer will be here early in the morning, so try not to sleep in."

"Okay," she said, then turned her attention back to her dinner.

Jasmine slept fitfully that night, her unconscious mind throwing nightmare after nightmare at her. First she walked into the court to find Mrs. Sanders sitting in the judge's seat, grinning as she announced 'Victoria' would be going home with her. Then the scene changed, and her cousins were escorting her into the courtroom like a felon, putting her in the witness stand before the judge listened to a case against her led by her aunt. Then it was a normal court room, and Mrs. Sanders was begging the judge to let her take Jasmine home. When refused, the woman pulled out a gun...and the nightmare changed course again.

Bleary-eyed, Jasmine was not ready when the lawyer came knocking on her door. She tumbled out of bed and threw on some clean clothes.

"Victoria? Are you in there?"

"Come in," Jasmine called, then cleared her throat. Her mouth was dry, and she was glad to see the lawyer was carrying a paper bag along with a briefcase.

"The officer at the front desk asked me to drop this off for you," said the man, setting it down.

"Thanks," Jasmine said, pulling out her usual breakfast. She unwrapped a sandwich and went to take a bite, then froze. There was bacon in it, she could see it as well as smell it. Frowning, the girl set the sandwich down and reached for her milkshake.

"Something wrong?" the lawyer asked, eyes narrowing.

The sandwich hadn't come from a police officer, Jasmine was certain of that, and now she wondered if the milkshake was suspect, too. She set it down without taking a sip and clutched her stomach.

"I don't feel very good," she moaned.

Frown deepening, the lawyer set down his briefcase and popped the latches, then flipped up the top, revealing a laptop inside. "Perhaps it's nerves. Food will help."

"I don't think I can eat right now," Jasmine said, grimacing. "Can I take it with me?"

"I suppose." A few keystrokes woke the computer from its sleep, and the lawyer glanced down at the screen. "Your given name is Victoria Sanders, but the records from the orphanage name you Petunia Winters. Is that correct?"

Jasmine shrugged.

"Evidence has recently been brought to light that suggests a DNA test will be required to ensure you are who you say you are. Fortunately, both of your alleged parents were blood donors."

"You need some of my blood?" The girl's stomach knotted even more. She hated needles with a passion.

"A few strands of hair would suffice," replied the man, tapping away at his laptop. "Do you have a hairbrush handy?"

Fetching her comb, Jasmine wondered if she wanted the test to be positive. She still longed for a family, to know she belonged somewhere with people who loved her, but if inheriting the fortune meant living with the Sanderses, the girl didn't want the money. To be honest, she didn't really want a human family, either. If only she could have stayed with the Seekers. Her aching heart wished desperately to go back in time and change her mind, even though Jasmine knew leaving had been for the best.

The lawyer misinterpreted her sigh as one of frustration. "Don't worry, I will get this mess sorted out soon enough. Until then, don't speak to anyone about the details of this case, understand? The media is already swarming like flies to honey."

Jasmine caught herself just in time before she pointed out that she didn't know much about the case, anyway. Instead she handed over her comb, which he placed in a plastic zip-loc bag whipped from a coat pocket.

"We'll drop this off on the way out," he said, and closed the laptop. "Come along."

Following him out the door, breakfast conveniently forgotten on her desk, Jasmine let a question roll around in her mind for a moment before voicing it. "Why didn't they do the DNA testing before now?"

"Because this case is about custody, not your identity itself," replied the lawyer. "While the labs determine your legitimacy, I must convince the judge that the Sanderses should not be your guardians. Victoria Sanders's guardians, that is." He looked down at her with a frown. "You do resemble Violet Sanders quite a bit. I would be surprised if the tests came back negative."

That hope crushed, Jasmine fell silent.

* * *

Long, boring, and too full of lawyer-talk for Jasmine to understand half of it, the court case dragged on for what felt like days to the girl, who was stuck on a hard wooden bench at the front of the courtroom. Every time she was sure the judge would pound his gavel and end it, one lawyer or the other would reveal another bit of evidence that started the argument up again. Her only consolation was that Andrea and Tyler, sitting across the aisle way on a bench beside their mother, looked as bored and uncomfortable as herself. She ignored the dark looks both sent her way, knowing they wouldn't dare try anything while the police escort surrounding her remained.

The sharp bang of the judge's gavel brought Jasmine out of a slight doze with a startled jump. One of the policemen placed a steadying hand on her shoulder. She ignored it, focused completely on the old man sitting behind the large desk.

"If there are no more witnesses to speak, then I will-"

"A moment more of your time, your honor," said Jasmine's lawyer, taking a few sheets of paper from a man who had appeared at his elbow some point after the girl had fallen asleep. "I apologize for wasting so much already, but this information appears to make the current case moot. Though I would suggest examining the evidence provided by the accused regarding my client's identity, which is not, as was previously determined, that of Victoria Sanders."

"What?" Mrs. Sanders shrieked. "How dare you-"

"Silence!" the judge roared. "Explain this, Mr. Bellthorne."

"The DNA test results just arrived from the lab." The lawyer waved the paper he held in the air. "Mrs. Sanders may be accused of fraud on top of the other charges, but Victoria – that is, Petunia Winters, has no further part to play."

"Winters is dismissed from the courtroom," the judge said, nodding toward the police surrounding Jasmine. "Now," he added, in a frosty voice, "let's get to the bottom of this, Mrs. Sanders."

Still stunned by her sudden change in fortunes, Jasmine let the voices fade from her hearing even before she and her escort had left the room. There was no reason to ask what was going to happen to her – she knew already, and her heart sank at the thought of returning to the orphanage.

* * *

At the police station, she was met by the same man who had been so friendly those past few days. He handed her a large bag filled with the books, puzzles and drawings from her room. "Here," he said, patting her shoulder as she accepted the gift cautiously. "I'm sorry things turned out the way they did. You take care now, you hear me? And if you ever need any help, well..." He gave her a slip of paper with a penciled number. "Call me."

"Thank you," she said, curling her fingers around the bit of paper. It made her feel just a bit safer. "Thank you for everything."

"Least I could do." He patted her shoulder one last time, then nodded to her escort. "Get her home safely, boys."

"Yes, chief," they replied in unison.

At the title, Jasmine's eyes widened a fraction, surprised that such an important man would have given her as much attention as he had over the past few days. "Thank you," she said again.

"Like I said, it was no problem at all. You're a good girl, Vic-Petunia, I'm glad I met you. Have a safe trip home."

Jasmine nodded, then let the other policemen lead her toward the front door. As she followed them out, the girl glanced back one last time and offered the chief of police a hesitant smile, which he returned at once, along with a quick wave. She raised a hand briefly, then shut the door, taking a deep breath.

"We'll be flying you home," one of the policemen said. "I'll go with you to make sure you get to the orphanage without any problems."

Barely registering the words, Jasmine nodded, covering a yawn. The day was barely half over, and already she wanted to fall asleep and not wake up for a long time. She got into the car as directed and buckled her seatbelt, but sleep stole her away before they even started the engine.


	10. Yearning

So. Um. I'm back. Without a really good reason for my long absence, other than that school once again swallowed me whole and only deigned to spit me back out about a week ago. My mind still aches from the experience, but the guilt of neglecting this story for so long has been gnawing at me and I couldn't ignore it any longer. So. New chapter ahead. I hope you enjoy it. Review if you like. Comments and criticism are welcome, and I've definitely earned any torches you've been waiting to light...

Thank you, as always, for adding alerts, faves, and for reviewing. I enjoy writing this story and I love to hear what your thoughts regarding it.

_Corrected 6-25-2012 for slight malfunction in author's terminology_

* * *

Chapter Ten

Yearning

_"Starscream!"_ Skywarp's call over their trinebond was strong enough to drag the silver Seeker from his forced recharge.

Not bothering to open his optics – scans already told him he was alone in his room, and Skywarp would be shouting out loud were he present, judging by the strength of his message – Starscream let his systems start up properly before sending a reply. _"What is it, Skywarp?"_ His processors, still slow from the interrupted recharge cycle, began to crank out possibilities for his trinemate's distress.

_"Jasmine isn't Victoria! The humans were lying, and now she's been sent back to that orphanage place."_

_ At least she is no longer in danger_, Starscream thought, his brief feeling of relief immediately replaced with concern. _"Calm down, Skywarp, it isn't the end of the world. So what if the human is someone else? She is with her own kind and much safer than she would be here." Now that she is away from the Sanderses, anyway,_ he added to himself.

_"But she hates it there. We have to get her back, Screamer."_

Starscream's response was firm. _"She chose to leave. We hold no obligation to her and her presence here was a danger for us as well as herself. She is better off at the orphanage."_

_"Starscream is right,"_ Thundercracker agreed, joining their conversation without waiting for an invitation. It wasn't as though the conversation was private, after all, not if it was being held over the trinebond they shared. _"I care for the human as well, Skywarp, but we could not have kept her hidden forever. Eventually Megatron would have found out. He almost did during the short time she was with us. Could you bring her back here, knowing what her fate would be if our leader discovered her existence?"_

_ "We can find better hiding places,"_ Skywarp pleaded._ "I swear, he'll never find out."_

The longing his brothers felt was almost overwhelming. Starscream flinched at the intensity, hiding his own emotions behind heavy firewalls. No need for them to know he missed the human as well. It would only make matters worse.

_"No,"_ he said, almost gently. _"That's final."_

* * *

"Hey, look, it's the little princess!"

Jasmine flinched, keeping her head down as she followed the policeman to the door of the orphanage. She was tired from the long plane ride, which had been far less comfortable than flying with Skywarp, hungry, and most of all, emotionally exhausted. The last thing she wanted to do was deal with her fellow orphans, who had no doubt come up with new and better torments since she had left.

"What happened, Pet? Did your owners throw you out for not being housetrained?"

"That's enough." Sharp and to the point, the policeman's voice sliced through the rising murmur of taunts and scattered the gathering mob. "Petunia, where is the office of the head matron?"

"This way," she said, pointing down the hall. Too late she saw Miss Vale headed toward them.

"Don't point, Petunia, it's rude," the woman scolded before turning to the policeman. "I am terribly sorry you had to go through so much trouble."

"She was no trouble at all, ma'am. If you don't mind, I'll help Petunia bring her things to her room."

Miss Vale glanced at the bag Jasmine carried with a look of distaste – she hated when the orphans received gifts. They were supposed to be equals, she always said, and forced them to share what they had. Jasmine knew most of her things would disappear within a few days, but that was all right. Her drawings were the most important, and they were folded into small squares and tucked into her jacket pockets, along with the box of crayons.

"Please don't feel obliged," said the head matron, giving Jasmine a brief frown. "Off you go, child, and unpack. Dinner will be ready soon."

"Thank you," Jasmine told the policeman, not about to be shooed off before she could at least show her gratitude for everything he and the others had done.

"It's our duty," he replied, taking the bag from her before she could protest. "Now show me where your room is."

Miss Vale sputtered and almost argued, but something in the man's eyes must have warned her off because she relented and let them walk away, though not before she had given Jasmine a warning look. The girl quailed, a motion not unnoticed by the police officer, who frowned but did not comment. This orphanage was unfortunately far from his jurisdiction, but he already planned to stop by the local station before leaving. If necessary, he'd even call the chief, see if his friends among their superiors could do something about the situation. He didn't like having to leave the poor child in such a place, the only comfort – slight as it was – being that she had survived it before. That, and the fact he wasn't going to leave her in this building any longer than necessary. Even if he had to take her home himself.

Jasmine didn't know what her companion was thinking about, though she had a feeling he didn't like Miss Vale. His disapproving looks toward the building itself were also impossible to miss, and the girl felt a momentary desire to defend the bare grey walls and scuffed wood floors. It wasn't much of a home, but it had been she had ever known, and it was all she had left. Her mind knew, even if her heart still yearned, the Seekers did not want her back. Her presence at their home had been a momentary diversion, nothing more, no matter what Skywarp said. If it were anything else, surely he would have come to fetch her long before now.

A soft crackle of paper came from her jacket pockets as she reached out to open a bedroom door. Remembering the pictures she had drawn, Jasmine decided to get rid of them as soon as possible. They would only remind her of what she had lost and would probably get the trine in trouble, anyway, should the wrong people get their hands on the drawings.

Sighing, she pushed the door open, knowing what lay in the room beyond even before it came into sight. Three bunk beds against one wall, two more against its adjacent. A couple rickety old desks with chairs that looked even more unstable. Wooden crates packed with neatly folded clothes and lined up along the one otherwise empty wall. The small window, barred shut, with frosted glass that let in little light.

Fortunately, no one had moved into her bed during her absence, and most of her clothes appeared to be where they had been left. Her pillow was gone, but another of the beds held two, so retrieving it would be simple enough. Jasmine turned and held out her hand. "Thanks for everything," she said, hoping the man would take her hint and leave.

To her surprise, he pulled her into a quick hug. "You be careful now," he warned, releasing her a moment later and shoving the bag into her arms, along with a few folded bills pulled hastily from his pocket. "The chief gave you his number?"

She nodded, still stunned by his generosity.

"Good," he said. "If you have any trouble, with that woman or the other orphans or anyone else, call him at once and he'll send me over. Actually, here-" he relieved her of the bag again and rummaged in it until he found a piece of paper. "Where did those crayons go?"

Wordlessly, she pulled one from her pocket and held it out.

"Like purple?" he asked, noting how much of the crayon had been used.

Jasmine shrugged, not about to explain that she had used a lot in her drawings of Skywarp. Granted, the bright color wasn't quite the silvery-violet shade of the Seeker, but it was the closest she could come.

"This is my number," he said, folding the paper and handing it and the crayon to the girl. "Don't lose it and don't hesitate to call me. I'll be in town for a few days, got a couple things to look into." Glancing around, he lowered his voice and added, "Such as this place. I don't like the way things are being run around here."

"Good luck," Jasmine offered.

"You're a good kid," he told her in return, pattering her shoulder. "Take care now, and don't lose those numbers."

Watching her last connection to the kinder world outside the orphanage walk away, Jasmine felt something heavy settle on her shoulders. Despair. Having tasted freedom, she didn't want to return to her old life.

It wasn't like she had a choice, though, so the girl hoisted her bag and walked into the bedroom, planning to hide what she could under her clothes before the dinner bell rang. Everything that wouldn't fit on the bottom of the crate would be left in the paper bag as a diversion for the snoops interested in what she had brought back from her brief sojourn.

* * *

Skywarp had kept a steady stream of human broadcasts running through his lower processors since Jasmine had left, watching for any hint of news about her. New news, that is, there was plenty of the repetitive stories, all stating the same thing about her status as the possible heir to an enormous fortune. When it had turned to the related cases of her custody and her actual claim to the fortune, the Seeker had wanted desperately to snatch her away from the greedy humans, who didn't seem to care about what she felt, just what she was worth. Then the lab results returned and it was made clear Jasmine was not Victoria Sanders, which meant her leaving had been pointless in the first place.

Flying out on energon collection yet again, Skywarp had more than enough time alone to think about it all. His brothers didn't understand. Thundercracker did miss the human, but was too busy to worry about her current condition. Starscream simply didn't seem to care. It didn't help that Soundwave and Megatron kept poking around, as though they expected to find something incriminating, though the Seekers had been careful to erase all traces of Jasmine's presence. Well, almost all. Skywarp would never let his brothers find the camper, which he had buried in the same pile of scrap metal Jasmine had hidden within not all that long ago. _Just in case_, he had thought when placing it there, but it was beginning to look like they would never have need for it again.

To make matters even worse, Starscream's condition was slowly getting worse. Skywarp could already feel the sharp pangs of energon deprivation, but he and Thundercracker had agreed privately to give their trinemate all they could spare. If the silver mech did not begin to heal soon, they might even have to take more desperate measures. What kind, Skywarp did not want to consider.

* * *

Dinner was a quiet affair, thankfully, and though Jasmine knew it had to be because someone had been punished earlier, she could not feel too sorry for the victim of Miss Vale's temper. With no one wanting to get on the matron's bad side, everyone left the girl alone. For the most part, anyway. A few whispered comments, an elbow in the ribs when someone sat beside her, and one girl not-so-absently picking up Jasmine's dinner roll and taking a bite; it all was to be expected and she suffered through it in silence. After Andrea and Tyler, the other orphans weren't so horrible. If anything, they were better than the alternative.

Following dessert – a congealed white lump studded with shriveled raisins the kitchen staff claimed to be rice pudding – Jasmine made her way quickly to her room, taking her old route up the back stairs. She slipped under her covers and buried her face in her pillow, hoping her roommates would not cause any trouble.

Her wish was partly granted, that is, no one bothered her that night, but the next morning she entered the bathroom, the last in line, to find a note scrawled in the fading steam on the mirror. _Tonight_. Jasmine washed her face and scraped her hair back into something resembling order, then followed the others down the stairs to breakfast. Oatmeal was even less appetizing than usual, but she forced down every bite, knowing she would regret not eating later.

The note from that morning was almost forgotten until Jasmine entered her room after the evening meal. Then three dark shapes jumped her, covering her with a suffocating blanket and taking her down to the floor.

"Think you're better'n us?" growled someone's voice, too low of a whisper to place a name to.

Jasmine had no breath with which to reply. Struggling against her captors, she wondered what plans they had for her. Whatever they had thought to do, though, it never happened. Sirens and lights suddenly lit up the night, and with screams, the three girls holding her down released her and fled. Shaking, Jasmine fought her way out from under the blanket and ran downstairs. Was there a fire? What was going on? The stream of girls and boys, all different ages and of various stages of almost-sleep, stumbled out the front door, rubbing eyes and clutching blankets, pillows and well-loved stuffed animals.

Miss Vale was the last to exit, shooing the final few stragglers down the steps, her eyes dark with anger. "What is the meaning of this?" she demanded, marching toward the nearest uniformed man.

Jasmine recognized him suddenly, and she felt like cheering. But Miss Vale started to yell, and he began to raise his voice in return, and it was too much for the girl to handle, so she crept aside, trying to find the edge of the crowd slowly gathering. Suddenly something black was shoved into her face and a woman wearing bright clothes and wire-rimmed glasses peered at her.

"Mind answering a few questions, dear? Is this raid a surprise? Are you glad that Miss Vale is being taken into custody? What do you think will happen to you and your fellow orphans now? Is there anything you would like to say to the general public?"

Shaking her head, Jasmine took a step back. "I just...I just..."

"Yes?" the woman pressed, matching the girl step for step. "You can say it, child, don't worry about what that terrible woman will say. She's leaving for good."

"I just want my family back," Jasmine whimpered, then turned and fled into the night, not caring where she was headed, as long as it was away from the light, and sound, and madness.

* * *

_"In a surprise raid, the orphanage matron has been taken into custody. The fate of the orphans is currently unknown, the police are currently keeping watch over the place. Although no statements have been made yet, we did hear a few words from one of the girls..."_

Skywarp's spark skipped a pulse when Jasmine's tearful face played. _"I just want my family back!"_ The purple mech cut his connection to the broadcast signal and force-started his cooling fans, which had been shut off due to lack of energon. Guilt, anger, frustration, all warred in his processors, heating them to the point that he snapped. _"Starscream, I am going after her."_

_ "...what?"_ The slow response warned Skywarp that he had woken his brother from a recharge cycle, but he could not quite bring himself to care right then, at least not much.

Sending the silver mech – and Thundercracker, inadvertently – a packet containing the transmission, Skywarp headed for the front door. He was already in the middle of transforming when the other two responded.

_"You are to stay on base,"_ Starscream ordered, without much force behind the words. _"Skywarp, it is far too dangerous a situation to enter. You will be doing the human a disservice, bringing her back here, she is far safer than she ever was."_

_ "Do you want backup?"_ Thundercracker asked, ignoring the angry response from Starscream at this statement. The blue mech knew there would be no arguing with Skywarp, not in his current state, and if Starscream's processors had been clearer, he would sense the same.

_"Unnecessary. Make sure Screamer doesn't do anything foolish while I'm away."_ With that final parting remark, the purple Seeker cut his communications with his brothers and took off down their runway, headed straight for the building where it had all begun, not that long ago.

Getting inside was the difficult part, and Skywarp thought it over carefully before he landed in an abandoned lot, under the cover of darkness, and sent a hologram creeping through the night into the orphanae. After checking every single room, some of them more than once, he found himself confused. Jasmine was nowhere to be found. He began searching through the bags and boxes in the various rooms, making as little noise as possible, and finally discovered at the bottom of one crate a jacket with pockets filled with drawings unremarkable save for their heavy use of silver, blue and purple crayon and the fact that each drawing was painstakingly marked with recognizable Cybertronian characters.

Jasmine had been here, at one point, and Skywarp almost woke the other occupants in the room, to ask where she might be now, but then decided they might scream and that would cause even more issues for his search. Instead, he left the room, taking the drawings and coat with him, which he stored away in subspace before changing his search pattern. The only other place he could think of her being was the police station, but a quick scan of the building revealed no life signs similar to a child's.

Had she run away? The thought was enough to make his spark spin with worry. There were so many dangers out on the streets, and she could be anywhere by now, it could take weeks to find her. Like it or not, he was going to have to ask for help. Filing his pride away in some dark corner of his memory, Skywarp opened a channel to his brothers. _"Starscream? Thundercracker? We have a problem."_

_"You have a problem," _Starscream said, after hearing the facts. _"Sounds like she ran. Considering the circumstances surrounding the takeover of the orphanage, I wouldn't be surprised if more than one orphan took flight. Knowing humans, she won't have gone far, though. They tend to stick to familiar places."_

_ "But she's not in the orphanage, or the police station!"_

_ "Scan for life signs around both buildings, especially the orphanage," _suggested Starscream, impatience and annoyance heavy in his transmission.

Skywarp took to the air again and began to circle, running radar scans. Several heat signatures appeared, but as each one turned out to be a stray animal or a homeless person curled up in a doorway, he began to despair of ever finding one single human. Then something moved on his radar, a small, furtive jump as a spot he hadn't checked yet crept across the road toward the orphanage. Without waiting for confirmation from his visual sensors, the Seeker pounced, transforming even as he landed in the street nearby.

"Jasmine?" he called softly, and the movement stopped, then started again, headed in his direction fast. The running steps faltered only once, as they came to an abrupt stop in front of him, and the girl looked up, staring at him with wide eyes.

"You came back," she said, flinging her arms up, and he scooped her into his hand without any further pressing needed.

"You're coming home," he replied, and they flew off.

The trip back was a quiet one, with Jasmine dozing as she finally got the rest she had been longing for and Skywarp tried to reason with his brothers. Fortunately, Thundercracker didn't take long to switch sides, leaving Starscream to be the stubborn voice of reason.

_"She can't stay with us," _the silver mech protested. _"Look how well things went last time."_

_ "We can't take her back_," Skywarp replied. _"We're her family."_

The argument went on for a little longer, then Starscream paused for a long moment before venting air, the sound somehow carrying over his next transmission. _"Very well, but report to me as soon as you return. I want to ensure you picked up the right human."_

_ "Of course I did!" _Skywarp protested, but it was to an empty connection, and Thundercracker only chuckled before disconnecting himself.

* * *

Jasmine woke as Skywarp switched to bipedal mode. Yawning, the girl sat up, startled to find herself in Starscream's room. The mech was recharging, as usual, and she crept to the edge of Skywarp's hand to peer at the silver Seeker.

"Starscream?" she whispered, then looked up to Skywarp. "Is he sleeping?"

"Recharging," the mech replied, and set her down on the nearest chair arm. "He should wake soon. I need to go-"

"-collect energon," she finished for him with a sigh.

"Yes, but I'll be back as soon as I can, promise." Skywarp left, and Jasmine made her way down to the palm of Starscream's right hand, uncomfortable with sitting on the chair arm.

"Starscream?" she murmured again, patting his arm, but the Seeker didn't move, so she curled up and fell asleep again, feeling safer than she had in a long time.

Starscream waited until the human's breathing patterns had settled to a gentle rhythm before he allowed a smile to creep across his face. "Welcome home, human," he said, voice a barely above a whisper, then shuttered his own optics for another recharge cycle.


	11. Offer

Soooooo... Yeah. Still working on the next chapter for Revealing Secrets. Took longer than expected for me to get back into the swing of that story... But that's what I get for neglecting it for over half a year.

This story, on the other hand, is coming along nicely. Chapter 12 is well on its way to completion and Chapter 13 is about halfway done, thanks to it consisting mainly of a scene I wrote back when this story first started, the scene that brought this tale into being. It needs a little altering now, but if all goes well, Chapter 12 should be up by the end of the this month (hopefully alongside Chapter 31 of RS) and Chapter 13 will pop up sometime in early August.

At least, that's the plan. Barring any personal catastrophes, natural disasters, major wars or writer's blocks that may spring up between now and then, of course.

Before I release you to read this latest chapter, I would like to take a moment to say THANK YOU to all you wonderful readers who have added this story as a favorite and/or added it to your alert list. I am always touched when such notifications arrive, as it tells me that you are truly enjoying my story, which makes me (and my muse) happy and feel better about banging our collective head against the mental wall of writer's block for hours on end.

An extra big THANK YOU to all you reviewers out there! I am grateful that you take a few minutes to let me know your thoughts, and your comments and criticism are always appreciated.

Now, without further ado, I hope you enjoy this latest installment of Human Experiment.

* * *

Chapter Eleven

Offer

Onlining to find a human recharging in his hand was not how Starscream usually expected to start his day, but he found himself minding less than he once had. Since her return over an orn ago, Jasmine had been beyond faithful in keeping him company during the day, leaving Thundercracker to work on his datapads in peace and allowing Skywarp to continue his increasingly desperate search for fresh, untouched energon sources.

Keeping still, the silver mech watched until the human began to move on her own accord, muttering to herself and yawning once or twice as she left her recharge cycle. Humans were so noisy. And yet, there was something endearing about the way she rubbed her optics and stretched, like the cats humans were so keen on keeping as pets. Starscream shuttered his optics for a moment, cursing himself for getting attached to the human, but there was no denying that she had become part of the trine. A smaller, squishier part, but a part all the same.

"Good morning." The short but cheerful phrase called his attention back to his companion, who beamed up at him as usual. "Breakfast, please?"

Since Megatron's visit, it had been agreed that keeping the camper around would create too many questions should some mech go snooping around. Instead, all three Seekers carried in subspace pockets the necessary items for their human's continued existence, from clothes to entertainment (books, crayons, paper, etc) to food. It had been Starscream's idea, though he had be resistant himself to the idea of wasting his precious space on frivolous things. Thundercracker, too, had devoted much of his own subspace area to datapads and such that were important either for his job or personal reasons.

It had fallen upon Skywarp to carry the majority of the human's things, then, though Jasmine insisted she did not need nearly all the stuff the purple mech had collected. The other two mechs kept only the basic supplies. In Starscream's case, that included food, a few changes of clothing, and a couple science books – the ghost of his former profession had raised its curious head long enough for him to allow that small concession. Jasmine obliged him by appearing interested in the subject matter the books contained, though she often requested his assistance in understanding some of the more complicated concepts.

Now he brought forth a small cardboard box, letting it fall to the palm of his hand. Grasping it with his claws would simply tear it to shreds, as he had discovered in earlier attempts. Humans did not package their fuel properly. Jasmine had no complaints about it, though, and she tore into one of the granola bars hungrily.

"Slow down," Starscream chided, knowing the girl couldn't be starving. She had eaten not long before falling into recharge the night before. He watched the human adjust her pace to suit him, and nodded, satisfied. "Much better."

In response, Jasmine stuck her tongue out at him, then polished off her second granola bar. Breakfast finished, the girl held up the cardboard box with one hand, using the other to stuff yet another bar into her jacket pocket for later.

Holding out one claw, Starscream let the human place the box on the very tip. He flicked it into subspace, then drew out the small, liquid-filled plastic container she called a water bottle. Humans were so complicated when it came to feeding habits.

After downing half the bottle, Jasmine screwed on the cap and let the mech send it back to subspace like the granola bars. Looking up with bright brown optics, the girl asked, "What are we doing today, Screamer?"

A snarl rumbled in Starscream's chest. "I told you not to call me that," he reminded the human, who simply laughed, shrugged, then hopped from his hand to his lap. She had long since figured a way to clamber up and down his leg using struts and armor joints to her advantage. Starscream had learned to hold still when the girl was climbing about, however annoying it was. The first time he had realized her intent the Seeker had grabbed for the human and she had almost fallen from his knee to the hard floor below. The scare had not fazed Jasmine for long – her former fear of heights seemed almost banished to oblivion – but Starscream's spark had almost stopped glowing for the long second when it seemed he would not catch her in time.

Now he simply watched, incensed by the knowledge that he was becoming the Cybertronian equivalent of a human climbing gym, but without the means to prevent it. Jasmine always ignored his suggestions that he lower her to the ground himself, so he no longer bothered to offer.

After jumping the last few feet, Jasmine patted her companion's foot, unaware of the thoughts flickering in his processor. "Ready?" She tilted her head back to look him in the optics, smiling.

_How does she remain cheerful all the time? I was certain she would be depressed after returning, scarred by her time with those irresponsible humans, but instead she's as optimistic as a newborn sparkling._ Which, Starscream had to admit as he followed the human out his bedroom door, she was similar to, being a human youngling after all.

It didn't take long for Jasmine to request a lift. Long corridors and short human legs that struggled to keep up with the slowest of mech strides easily tired the human. Starscream lifted her to his shoulder without protest, and she latched onto a support strut to keep her balance. He continued down the corridor in the direction the girl had been headed.

"Where are we going?" he asked her, knowing their path led toward the base's storage rooms. The Seeker doubted there was much down there to hold the human's interest, though she had proved him wrong before. A simple question about energon had once started the former scientist on a lengthy explanation about the collection and refinement of the precious fuel that also served as blood for the Cybertronians. Jasmine had sat through it patiently, and promised to avoid any spills when he explained the danger to humans it presented.

"Exploring," Jasmine said, breaking him from his thoughts. "And then to see Thundercracker?"

"If he is not too busy," Starscream amended. "Where did you want to explore?"

Shrugging, the girl made a vague gesture down the hall. "That way?"

"There is only storage in this direction," said the Seeker, but he continued walking, each step slow and cautious. A swifter pace jarred his injured wings. The damage had become worse after his short flight delivering the girl back into the hands of her own kind, a move he now regretted making. After all, in the end she had returned, the humans were no doubt suspicious of her second disappearance, and if the orphanage matron's ranting was taken seriously, Soundwave might take notice. The Decepticon intelligence officer already suspected the trine. The last thing Starscream wanted to deal with right then was Megatron coming by for an interrogation at the suggestion of his faithful lackey.

"Starscream?"

Jasmine's quiet murmur jolted the Seeker back into reality and he realized that he had stopped walking. Were his processors so fried he could not handle doing two things at once? Venting air, he turned on his heel and headed back the way they had come.

"Starscream?" the human repeated. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said, sharper than he meant to, and he winced a little when the girl flinched, her fingers tightening a little on the support strut. Nannites in the area sent a soft warning buzz of disturbance to his processor, though the pressure was not nearly enough to cause the mech pain. Softening his voice, Starscream added, "Nothing that concerns you directly. I just have some business to deal with, so you will need to stay with Thundercracker today."

Jasmine brightened, though he wasn't sure if it was because of his reassurance or the promise of seeing the blue Seeker, who spent far too much time in his office juggling datapads.

"You must not disturb him," Starscream warned, earning a vigorous nod from the human.

"I won't, I promise."

She wouldn't mean to, but the Seeker had a feeling his brother would not get much done for the next joor or so. _"Thundercracker, I need you to watch the human for a bit."_

_ "Why?"_ came the immediate reply, carrying an undercurrent of delight laced with concern. _"Did you overexert yourself?"_

_"Of course not! I simply need some time alone. Give her a datapad to play with and don't let her presence disrupt your work."_

Now the blue mech's transmission took on a hint of amusement. _"Of course not. She is quite well-behaved, as you know full well."_

Starscream didn't respond. Tapping a digit on the door console, he waited for it to slide open, then deposited the human on his brother's desk. Noting the large pile of disorganized datapads that covered said desk's surface, the silver Seeker wondered if it might be safer to keep the girl with him, but she would be an unneeded distraction. No, better to leave her where Thundercracker would not allow his work to prevent him from keeping one optic on the human.

"Everything all right?" Thundercracker asked, aloud this time.

"Yes, fine. Where is Skywarp?"

"Energon collection again. The last shipment we received arrived half-spoiled." Thundercracker made no accusations toward their fellow Decepticons, but Starscream knew who had to be responsible. Megatron had not forgotten his displeasure. Venting air, the silver mech gave a nod to acknowledge the information, then left, knowing as well as his trinemate did that they could not complain about the treatment. No doubt his leader expected exactly that, and Starscream refused to play into Megatron's hands, especially at a time when the wrong move could earn him a blast from the dreaded fusion cannon.

"I will be in my room," he told Thundercracker, then headed for the door. "Let me know if you need relief."

"Of course," said the blue mech, sending a message over their bond at the same time, _"When have I ever needed to be relieved from the duty of watching one small human?"_

_ "Oh, you have Jasmine?"_ Skywarp joined the conversation suddenly. _"I wondered why Starscream's room was empty."_

_ "Why didn't you contact me when you returned to base?"_ Starscream grumbled, not happy that his brother had been in his room unsupervised. Skywarp had seemed to mature quite a bit since the human came to stay – one of the few good things about her continued presence – but such an opportunity was one the purple mech might not ignore. The silver Seeker made a note to check his quarters thoroughly before dropping into recharge.

_"I wanted to surprise you with something,"_ Skywarp replied cheerfully.

Visions of everything from a dead animal – Starscream shunted that particular memory into the depths of his processor – to another kidnapped human danced through the Seeker's mind in the short moment it took to form a reply. _"WHAT IS IT?"_

_ "No need to scream at me, it's not alive."_ Skywarp attached an image to his transmission, and Starscream opened it after a brief moment of hesitation. His optics widened in shock as the picture of three glowing, _full_ energon cubes stacked neatly in his chair pixilated itself into existence.

_"Good work,"_ the silver Seeker sent, earning a pleased response from his brother who was unused to praise. _"Bring them to Thundercracker's office so we may celebrate." And so I don't have to worry about you two shorting yourselves for once,_ he added to himself.

The soft crack of air being displaced by a large object announced Skywarp's arrival a few scant seconds later. Jasmine looked up from her seat on Thundercracker's desk to see the purple Seeker headed her way with an armload of energon cubes.

"Skywarp!" she called, delighted to see her friend, who had been absent far too much in the past few days. "Where did you find all the energon?"

Bright red eyes met shining brown as Skywarp swept a pile of datapads from the desk, dumped his load, and scooped up the human in one smooth move marred only by the crash of the datapads against the hard floor. Ignoring his brothers' protests, the purple mech skipped around the room, his own rough laughter mixing with the lighter sound of his companion's mirth.

"Finally found a decent deposit that hasn't been claimed by either side," Skywarp explained between chuckles, dodging a blow from his blue brother. "Thundercracker, you should be happy! One of your little spots finally came through – not a single sign of Decepticon or Autobot interference anywhere near that sight."

"Wonderful," Thundercracker said, leaving his brother to caper about like an idiot while the other two mechs gathered up the datapads that had been spilled. "These will take forever to sort again."

"Make him do it," Starscream suggested with the faintest hint of a smile. "But later." He scooped the datapads from his brother's arms and dumped them onto the desk. "For the moment," he added, shoving one of the three energon cubes into Thundercracker's hands, "we can celebrate our new energon source."

"Save one for me," Skywarp cried, realizing that the cubes were being dispersed, and Jasmine was moved to his shoulder so he could grasp the last cube with both hands.

"To Cybertron!" Starscream cheered, raising his cube. He already felt reenergized, even without having had a sip yet.

Glad to hear his trinemate's voice sounding stronger than it had in a long time, Thundercracker raised his own cube. "To our trine!"

"To Jasmine!" Skywarp added, retrieving a can of soda from subspace for the human, who popped it open – spraying the sticky liquid everywhere in her haste – before chiming in with her own toast.

"To family!" Jasmine raised the can to her lips, about to take a sip of the sweet drink, when the office door caved in with a resounding crash. Startled, the girl dropped the can, which bounced down Skywarp's frame to splatter on the floor.

Three larger and far more devastating crashes covered the sound of the can's destruction as the energon cubes were dropped by the startled Seekers. Moving away from the door, they brought their hands up, weapons ready to deploy at the first sign of their attacker.

Red optics combed the room as the intruder entered, his large frame filling the new doorway with ease. Megatron surveyed the destruction he had caused with a pleased nod, then turned a less-than-pleased look upon Starscream. The silver Seeker's processor took in the situation and began calculating the chance of everyone's survival. Fortunately, Skywarp was on the other side of the room, one hand half-raised toward Jasmine in an attempt to hide the small human from sight. Still, the odds were not in the trine's favor.

_"Starscream, do something!"_ Skywarp's frantic voice was heavy with terror as it shot over their trinebond. _"If he sees her...!"_

_ "I know."_ Starscream could sense how close his brother was to warping out, but that would only cause more trouble in the end. Not to mention the fact that there was no way to know how many reinforcements their leader had brought along. _"Stay where you are and try not to draw attention to yourself. Thundercracker, if you get a chance, move between them."_

_ "Understood."_ The blue mech radiated calmness into their trinebond, a calm he did not feel but forced out anyway. Starscream was in no condition to deal with this situation, but none of them had a choice. Thundercracker did not dare do more than offer emotional support at the moment, but the undercurrent of determination and anger that ran beneath his calm made it clear he would fight if it came to that.

Starscream hoped it would not. Bowing low, he greeted Megatron as though this were an ordinary visit. "Lord Megatron, my illustrious leader, what brings you to our base so soon after your last visit?"

"Soon?" There was no mirth in the dark chuckle the Decepticon leader released as he wrapped claws around the edge of the doorway. A little pressure and the metal crumpled. Retracting his claws, Megatron caught Starscream's pensive red optics with his own crimson glare. "It has been orns since your last decent report. Soundwave's records insist that you have had little to no contact with the Autobots, have made no new discoveries regarding energon or other resources, despite the abundance of such things on this dirtball of a planet, and have made little attempt to repair the damage from my last inspection. Nor have any of your trine been present on the Nemesis in orns."

"Lord Megatron, you have not requested our presence on the Nemesis. We thought it best to remain on this base until further orders arrived. As for the repairs-" Starscream almost shot a scowl toward Skywarp but caught himself just in time, remembering that he couldn't draw attention to the purple mech, "-I am afraid that we do not currently possess the resources for them. Unfortunately, when you assigned us to this base, it had only just been completed, and was not stocked properly during the transfer, and subsequent deliveries have been few and far between." _Because of _your_ orders,_ the silver Seeker added to himself, knowing that voicing that particular thought would only irritate Megatron further. Better to let him blow off some steam by smashing things and yelling, and maybe the Seeker trine would get out of the situation mostly unharmed. Their leader rarely raised a hand against Thundercracker or Skywarp – unless the latter mech had recently pranked the wrong mech – but Starscream knew that he for certain would not escape unscathed. He just hoped the damage would not be too severe.

"Why was I not informed of this before now?" Megatron snarled, apparently having forgotten that his own orders had caused the situation in the first place.

Once again, Starscream bit back the words to point this out, and instead bowed again, letting the movement hide the brief flash of annoyance that passed across his face. "Forgive me, Lord Megatron. I believed you were aware of the situation and it was simply part of our continued punishment."

"_Your_ punishment," Megatron said, growling. "Those fools-" he gestured toward the other two Seekers, now backed in a corner of the room, "-are apparently still loyal to their fool of a trine leader."

Normally, Skywarp would have some stupid comeback for such a remark, but this time he kept his vocalizer silent. Drawing attention to himself was the last thing he wanted.

Unfortunately, the silence itself drew Megatron's gaze to the purple mech. "You are strangely quiet, Skywarp," he growled. "I am surprised you have not tried to run yet, or spoken out of turn as you usually do. It is possible you have matured? Or are you hiding something?" The Decepticon leader took a step toward the Seeker, then another.

Skywarp's wings quivered with tension, and his traitorous cooling fans kicked up a notch. Any closer and Megatron would definitely notice the small human huddled as close to the purple mech's shoulder as she could get without actually become part of his armor. _"Starscream, DO SOMETHING!"_

Intake vents open to full capacity to feed his own cooling system, Starscream began to speak even as his processor searched for a good excuse. "Lord Megatron-"

It was too late. Since the Witwicky boy had caused so much trouble, Megatron had more sensitive sensors for organics than most. Starscream was not aware of this, though later, while reviewing the following sequence of events, he would curse himself for not considering the possibility that his leader might view the humans as dangerously unpredictable and take precautions about them coming near him again.

Hindsight, however, only comes once a sequence has been run, and this instance was no exception. Megatron leapt forward with a roar and slammed Skywarp against the wall, claws wrapped around the Seeker's throat. "There is a fleshling nearby. Where is it? I can smell him!"

"Urk-kk," was all the purple mech could manage, vocalizer unable to move beneath the overwhelming force of the Decepticon leader's hand. Any more pressure and his throat would be crushed. Panicked, Skywarp considered warping, but his systems were frozen with fear. Jasmine was inches away from death and there was nothing he could do to stop it. _"HELP!"_

_ "Don't move!"_ Starscream ordered a second before he tackled Megatron to the floor, dislodging the other mech's death grip in the process. _"Now, Skywarp, get her out of here!"_

Skywarp vanished, his connection clicking back a nanosecond later. _"Oh Primus Soundwave's got me pinned she isn't with me please Starscream Thundercracker find her save her don't let Megatron-"_

Shutting out his brother's incoherent babbling was simple enough. Ignoring the sheer terror coming through their trinebond was not so easy. Cursing, Starscream struggled to hold his half-stunned leader down as his scanners ran across the nearby floor, searching for any sign of the errant organic. How had his brother misplaced the human? Maybe when Megatron had slammed the smaller mech against the wall, but Starscream could have sworn the purple Seeker still had the girl then. If Jasmine had fallen from her perch in the aftermath of his daring tackle, the likelihood of her surviving was not great, and if the human were dead, attacking Megatron would have been for nothing. And yet... And yet his spark still burned with anger at the thought of the other mech getting his claws on the girl's soft flesh. No, it was about time Megatron got what he deserved.

_There_. He caught sight of Jasmine, huddled against the wall, just before Megatron's frame tensed and heaved, throwing off the lighter Seeker. Starscream flew across the room and landed against the wall with a harsh cracking sound. Pain sensors in his wings sent so many signals that his optics whited out, then they switched off as basic survival programming set in. Struggling to his feet, the silver Seeker found himself confronted with a scene very similar to the one he had just interrupted. Only this time, Thundercracker was pressed against the wall and Megatron's claws were much closer to the energon line that fed the blue mech's processor. Digging those claws through the armor that protected said line could easily offline the Seeker, and the Decepticon leader did not look as though he very much cared whether this particular soldier of his died or not.

"Hand over the fleshling now and I will release you!" he growled, giving his captive a harsh shake. Thundercracker's cooling fans whined in their attempt to cool the mech's rapidly heating frame, but otherwise the blue Seeker was silent, hands cupped tight against his armor. Megatron refused to let this show of bravery deter him. "Give me that human before I resort to tearing it from your grey chassis. This is a direct order, Thundercracker, refuse and I will-"

"No," Thundercracker said, crimson eyes glowing bright with anger.

"Wrong answer." Megatron raised his free hand, preparing to plunge those claws deep into the obstinate mech's chest plates, but his wrist was caught in the strong grip of a mech who knew he had only one reason left to keep fighting, and that was his trine.

"Let. Him. Go." Starscream yanked his leader's arm back, twisting it into a position that was as painful as it was awkward, then pulled even further.

Megatron twisted around, releasing his grip on Thundercracker long enough to shake the silver Seeker off and shove him into the nearby desk. Leaving Starscream on the floor for the second time in as many minutes, the Decepticon leader turned back to Thundercracker with a growl and flung the mech across the room with a single blow of his claws.

Wincing, the blue mech curled into a protective position around his hands. A moment later Starscream crashed into him, and the two Seekers lay against each other, their pain shared over their trinebond as they tried to summon the strength to get up. Laughing, Megatron advanced, claws raised to inflict more damage upon his two victims.

_"Take her,"_ Thundercracker said, and rolled into Starscream, the movement concealing their furtive transfer of human from one pair of hands to another. Then the blue Seeker was on his feet again and lunging forward, meaning to distract Megatron.

Not fooled, the Decepticon leader dodged to one side and landed a sharp blow on the other mech's shoulder, sending Thundercracker tumbling to one side and into a wall, helm-first. With a rattling groan, the mech fell unconscious, leaving a sudden void in the bond.

_"Thundercracker!"_ Skywarp was frantic, not knowing what was going on and unable to help as he stood outside, facing the weapons of not just Soundwave but several of the intelligence officer's symbiotes as well. _"Starscream, what happened?"_

Starscream did not acknowledge his brother's question, barely even heard it as his processor skipped several steps ahead, trying to solve the problem he faced. Thundercracker had only managed to distract Megatron for a few seconds. The silver Seeker could only hope that it was long enough.

"Starscream," Megatron growled, taking a step toward the fallen mech. "Hand over the fleshling and I will let you live."

Without bothering to waste time for words, Starscream stumbled to his feet and transformed, gears and struts and cables and damaged wings all twisting around each other in painful contortions as they struggled to fit themselves into the proper shape. Taking advantage of his leader's momentary confusion, Starscream blasted the nearest wall and sped out, grateful that the halls were just wide enough for his wing span. He made it to the front door in mere seconds and left the building with his guns blazing, tearing through the mechs that threatened Skywarp.

_"Get Thundercracker and run,"_ Starscream ordered his brother as he followed Soundwave and his symbiotes across the ground, keeping them distracted so his trinemates could escape.

_"Jasmine-"_

_ "No time, Skywarp, GO!"_ Starscream slammed down their communications, hoping his brother would follow orders. The sharp crack of air rushing to fill an empty space told him that, for once, Skywarp had actually listened. Now for the real trouble.

Megatron had left Thundercracker unconscious on the floor, not even bothering to offline the mech. He was completely focused on destroying Starscream in the most painful way possible, and tore through the building after the silver mech. Ignoring the halls, he blasted any wall in his way and upon entering the chaos outside, brought the Seeker down with a well-placed blast at one of Starscream's already injured wings.

It was not a pleasant landing, made even worse by the claws that dug into his chassis even as Starscream crashed into the unforgiving concrete of the runway. Several more systems warned of imminent failure and the Seeker shut them down, struggling to keep conscious as Megatron tried to forcibly find where he had hidden the human.

Two shots in perfect synchronization struck the Decepticon leader directly in the back, knocking him forward. He tripped over the prone form of his victim and landed hard. More cannon fire tore at his armor as he struggled to stand. Shaking his head, Megatron clambered to his feet and searched for those responsible, only to be hit directly in the chest plates. Stumbling back, he gave Soundwave orders to retreat and shifted himself. There were two Seekers standing in the rubble that had once been the base's front entrance, and while Megatron would normally never run from a fight, he had seen trines run amok before when one of their members had been injured. He would return to finish with Starscream later, once the mechs had succumbed to the wounds he had inflicted. Until then, he would plan how to deal with their pet human. Oh, yes, he would have it soon enough, and they would be forced to watch as he played with the little organic until it offlined. After which, he would take even greater pleasure in offlining each of them, with Starscream being last. How the Seeker would whine and beg, just as he always did, but Megatron would not show him any mercy. Not this time. This time, his _former_ Second in Command had gone too far.

* * *

"Starscream! Are you all right?" Even as Skywarp spoke the words, he could tell the damage was extensive. Energon dripped steadily from the worst of his brother's wounds, and it took the silver mech several tries before he returned to bipedal form. It required both his brothers' support to stand, and even then Starscream felt like collapsing on the ground and never moving again. It just hurt too much.

"Hold on," Thundercracker murmured, nudging his brother forward one step at a time. "We need to get you inside."

"Hurts," Starscream whined, and shook his brothers off, letting himself fall forward without making any attempt to catch himself. Crashing on the ground sent pain shooting through his body, but after it came the blissful feeling of utter stillness. He didn't want to move anymore. "Just leave me here," he snarled, though, being facedown in the ground, the words came out more like a muffled mumble. "Just leave me here..."

"Not likely," Thundercracker said. "Get up, Screamer."

The surprise at having his normally sane brother use the awful nickname his insane brother had given him was enough to make Starscream unshutter one optic long enough to glare at the blue mech. "Let me rest."

"No," Skywarp growled, prodding his brother's side with a foot, ignoring the groan that came from the injured mech. "Not until you tell me where Jasmine is."

"She's fine," Starscream moaned. "Leave me alone to offline in peace, you slagger."

"If you can manage whining in that condition, you're going to be fine," snapped Thundercracker. "That is, if we get you inside for repairs immediately. Now where did you put the human?"

Starscream managed a pained chuckle, then pushed himself up enough to roll onto his back. His wings were beyond pain by then, the sensors shorted out until his nervous system could reboot from the overload. With a little struggling, he managed to open his chest plates, revealing his spark chamber.

"You didn't," Thundercracker said, almost laughing at the absurdity of the situation. "Even after warning Skywarp about all the risks it posed?"

Jasmine poked her head out, taking in the situation at once. With no sign of Megatron nearby, she relaxed visibly and struggled out of her hiding place. "Skywarp? Thundercracker?" Tipping her head back, the girl swept her gaze over their battered forms, her brown eyes full of concern. "Are you hurt?"

"Not too badly," Skywarp reassured her. "Starscream got a little more beat up, though."

Turning at once to her savior, Jasmine scrambled over his chest plates until she could see his face. "Starscream? How bad are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," he said, but the pain came through his voice and Jasmine's eyes immediately filled with tears.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed, collapsing to her knees. "It's all my fault, I shouldn't have come back. I'm so sorry, Starscream, you're hurt and it's all my-"

"Stop it," Starscream snarled. "You wanted to be part of the trine, didn't you?"

Startled, the girl looked up, tears still running down her face as she nodded dumbly.

"Above all else, trines protect each other." Starscream touched the tip of his claw to the girl's cheek, feeling the hot sting of salt water against his armor. "Now stop leaking."

Sniffling, the girl wiped her eyes. "S-sorry."

"It's all right," Starscream said, his voice surprisingly gentle.

"Jasmine, you need to move," Skywarp said, holding out his hand. "We have to get Screamer inside."

"I can walk." Jasmine slid off Starscream's chest, then stepped to one side, waiting for the Seekers.

"Come on, Starscream, up you get," Thundercracker said, moving to help his trinemate to his feet again. Starscream only managed to sit up before his nervous system finished rebooting and the resulting wave of pain, coming from almost every sensor in his body, sent the mech crashing into stasis.


	12. Understanding

This chapter practically wrote itself, despite the fact that several scenes which had been written already had to be modified to fit the flow of the story.

Now that I'm working on both of my TF fics, updates will be slower, but hopefully more regular than they have been. Thank you for your continued patience and support! Thank you also for reading, faving and following this fic. And an extra big thank you to all you reviewers out there - your comments and criticism are always welcome and appreciated!

* * *

Chapter Twelve

Understanding

Remnants of acrid smoke stung Skywarp's olfactories as he entered the building, though the sprinkler system had managed to douse the worst of the fires left by Megatron's rampage through the base. Bad as the damage was, though, Skywarp and Thundercracker were less than worried about the status of their current home. It was their injured trinemate who captured their complete attention. Moving Starscream's damaged chassis from where he had collapsed took a long time. With small steps, careful not to jar the mech in case the pain brought him out of his forced stasis lock, the two Seekers brought their brother to his room. Once there, they gently laid him upon his berth.

Overseeing the whole operation from her helpless position on the ground, Jasmine continued to watch them in silence as they administered what little aid they could. Temporary patches on the worst of Starscream's wounds would not hold for long. Skywarp and Thundercracker conversed quietly, speaking aloud so as not to exclude the distraught human, though she had yet to say anything since Megatron's departure.

"This doesn't look good, TC," Skywarp said.

That he didn't protest the use of his nickname was a sign of Thundercracker's current stress level. "He transformed despite his injuries. Idiot."

"Will he be all right?" Skywarp was no field medic, but even he could tell the damage was extensive. Possibly too extensive. He gave his other brother a pleading look, begging for reassurance.

Thundercracker had little comfort to offer. "Not much more we can do without energon." He pressed another square patch onto his trinemate's armor, then stepped back. They had done what they could. "I will be back shortly," he said, and left.

"It's my fault," Jasmine whimpered, the moment the door had shut. She had tried to hold in her pain while the mechs worked, but now it spilled out again in another tumble of words. "If I hadn't been there, Megatron wouldn't have hurt you, or Thundercracker, or Starscream. It's all my fault."

For once, Skywarp was completely serious in his response. "It isn't your fault, Jasmine." He knelt in order to be closer to her height, though she still had to tilt her head back to look him tearfully in the optics. "Starscream has always placed his trine before everything else. It was _his_ choice to protect you, and if he hadn't..." He vented air, spark still quivering as he remembered how close the girl had been to getting slagged herself. "You wouldn't be alive right now. Starscream can be nasty at times, but he does care about you, just like he cares for TC and me, and that's why he protected you from Megatron. It was his choice," he repeated.

Tears began to shimmer down the girl's cheeks. "Is he...going to...offline?"

"I don't know," Skywarp said truthfully. "But Screamer's tough."

"He has a strong spark," Thundercracker agreed, having returned silently. He set the cube he carried on Starscream's desk, then moved to join the other two by the silver Seeker's birth. "Skywarp, you ready?"

"As I'll ever be." The purple mech rose to his feet, wings twitching slightly.

"Jasmine, I need you to do something for me," Thundercracker said, holding out his hand. Without hesitation, the girl scrambled into his palm. He set her down on the berth beside the unconscious Seeker. "If he comes out of stasis, make sure he doesn't leave this room. There's a cube of energon on his desk that has a light sedative in it. Make him drink it and it should keep him out until we return."

"Where are you going?" Jasmine asked, her face paling as she realized she was being left alone with a badly injured mech. "What if something goes wrong while you're gone? Or Megatron comes back?"

"That Pitspawn won't return for a while," Skywarp snarled, optics flaring.

Thundercracker laid a hand on the purple mech's shoulder. "If anyone but us comes in here, you must hide, understand?" It was true that Megatron was unlikely to return. His way of dealing with Starscream was to bash the mech about until satisfied, then leave the Seekers alone until he had neeed for their services again. However, if other Decepticons learned of Starscream's latest reprimand, they might come wandering by to jeer at the injured mech. Or, worse, finish him off in hopes of gaining advancement.

Jasmine nodded and sat down, though her reluctance was obvious. "Where are you going?" she asked again.

"To get energon for Starscream," Skywarp replied, his voice regaining a little of its normal joking tone as he added, "Don't burn the place down while we're gone. That's my job." He offered her a grin, despite the gravity of the situation, and Jasmine managed a shaky smile in return.

"Please be careful," she begged.

"We will," Thundercracker promised, then led Skywarp from the room. He didn't glance back, though his companion did once. Jasmine waved, looking impossibly small and fragile against the large silver frame behind her. Skywarp gave a quick nod in response, then the door shut and he turned to follow Thundercracker down the hallway. They moved swiftly, without a need for words.

Once outside, the Seekers transformed and took to the air, Skywarp in the lead this time. He headed for the deposit he had found not all that long ago, though his former delight of finding a suitable resource was now overshadowed by concern. Wind curled around his wings as he rushed along, ignoring the playful air currents. Taking his time was not an option – Starscream needed that energon, and fast. All but quivering with determination, the purple mech increased his speed. Nothing was going to get in his way.

* * *

Which was why, a few breems later, the sight of two Autobots surveying the energon deposit did not send Skywarp hightailing like usual. Instead he overrode the safeties that had shut his weapons systems down because of low energon levels, and dove out of the sky, aiming for the biggest threat.

Ironhide shoved Wheeljack aside as the first volley of shots came down. "Move, scientist, get out of the way!" His cannons rolled into position even as he spoke and the weapons specialist took aim and fired.

"Stop!" Thundercracker shouted, sending a transmission his brother's way at the same time. _"Skywarp, cease fire! We don't have time for this."_

As his safety systems had already overridden his override, Skywarp fell back, letting the blue Seeker take the lead.

"Cease fire!" Thundercracker barrel-rolled from another barrage of cannon fire and called again, "Cease fire!"

Ironhide fired both of his cannons again, this time aiming for the Seeker's wings. "If I've told you slaggers once, I've told you a hundred times, the only good 'Con is a dead one."

"I don't wish to fight," Thundercracker yelled, dodging the shots before transforming and landing heavily on the ground. His wings ached from the hasty change, but he ignored the pain. "We need energon. Please." The last word was ground out, almost inaudible, but a thoughtful look crossed Wheeljack's face.

"I'll give you some energon, nice and hot," growled Ironhide, cannons glowing red as they locked on his target.

"Wait," Wheeljack said, placing a hand on the weapons specialist's nearest cannon. There was something odd about the way the Seeker was acting, and the scientist's curiosity was once again getting the best of him. He gave Thundercracker a brief nod. "Call your companion down and we'll discuss this like civilized people. Ironhide, stand down."

"I will once these slaggers are scrap metal," snarled the weapons specialist, not moving from his stance.

"Ironhide, _he can barely stand up_," Wheeljack snapped. "Now put those cannons away and act like an Autobot officer instead of a Decepticon grunt!"

Ironhide's optics flicked from the Seeker hovering overhead – not firing, to his surprise, just hovering there – to the grounded Seeker, who did look rather haggard. There was also the notable lack of weapons, though Ironhide knew how fast that could change. He glanced at the scientist's stubborn look and vented air. "Prime's not going to like this, Wheeljack."

Skywarp followed the exchange, unsure how to proceed. _"Thundercracker?"_

_ "Come down."_ The mech sounded weary, even over their comm channel. He turned his attention back to the two Autobots, who were still arguing.

"I'll take full blame," Wheeljack insisted. "It won't be the first time Prime's had me thrown in the brig for a few orns, it and won't be the last." The scientist turned to the blue Seeker as Skywarp landed in a cloud of dust. "Megatron recently depleted a large source of energon. Why would you need more?"

Feeling traitorous for even sharing a small bit of Decepticon intel, Thundercracker nonetheless replied, "He's at a different base, and Starscream doesn't want Megatron thinking us weak enough that we would beg for it."

"Sure looks like you're begging right now, from where I stand," Ironhide grumbled.

Skywarp transformed, making a loud hissing noise, but a sharp look and brief transmission from his brother silenced the purple mech. _"You start a fight, we won't get any help, Skywarp, and Starscream _needs_ any assistance we can get."_

"Are you injured?" asked Wheeljack, directing the question to Skywarp, who had transformed back to bipedal form, wings quivering from the effort. "Judging by the amount of energon you have been taking lately, you shouldn't look like you are about to collapse."

"It's not me," Skywarp said, shaking his head. Before Thundercracker could stop him, the purple Seeker added, "It's Starscream."

Ironhide growled at the mention of the Decepticon second-in-command. "That slagger deserves whatever punishment he got."

This time Thundercracker had to grab his brother's shoulders firmly as Skywarp lunged forward. "Skywarp, I want you to do an aerial sweep of this place while I speak with the Autobots. Go." He gave Skywarp a slight push away and the purple mech transformed, moving slowly and with reluctance.

_"They'll attack you as soon as I'm out of sight,"_ whined Skywarp as he took to the skies, flight slower than usual.

_Must be running low on energon. Slag it, we both are. "I'll call you if there's any sign of treachery."_ Thundercracker turned a cold glare on Ironhide. "Refrain from suggesting that again, Ironhide."

The weapons specialist's reply was the high-pitched whine of his cannons powering up. "I never gave you permission to use my name, 'Con. Don't make that mistake again."

Thundercracker gave a short nod, then turned to Wheeljack. "I need a medic's assistance. Please."

"I thought you wanted energon," muttered Ironhide, a comment the blue mech ignored.

"What's wrong with Starscream?" Wheeljack asked, sensing the Seeker's concern. Something terrible must have happened for them to be willing to approach the enemy for assistance.

"And why would we want to help a Decepticon?" Ironhide added.

Thundercracker continued to ignore the weapons specialist, focusing on Wheeljack's question instead. "Starscream's wings are badly damaged. He transformed into altmode recently during an...argument with Megatron and barely managed to switch back." The blue mech winced at the memory, remembering the pain on his brother's face. "Then he dropped into a deep stasis. With his current injuries, it is possible he may offline without a medic's intervention."

Ironhide snorted. "Serves the slagger right."

Thundercracker bristled, but kept his mouth shut, optics focused on the scientist.

Wheeljack remained quiet, thinking.

"Don't you 'Cons have a medic?" said Ironhide, unwilling to let the silence last if he could throw in another jibe. "Why not ask him for help instead of crawling to us?"

"Scalpel?" Thundercracker gave a grim smile of satisfaction at seeing a grimace pass across Wheeljack's face. "Over my offlined chassis, and Skywarp's, too." The blue mech's optics glowed with anger. "I wouldn't ask this under different circumstances, but Megatron will be the last to offer assistance-"

Ironhide snorted. "Not surprising, since Starscream attempts to backstab him any chance he gets."

"-and Starscream doesn't have much time."

"Ironic," Wheeljack said quietly. "You spend all your time trying to offline us Autobots, but when you need help, your own faction isn't willing to offer it."

"But you are?" Thundercracker couldn't stop hope from creeping into his voice, just as a spasm of pain wreaked havoc on his processors. The Seeker doubled over, hissing, a deep ache making his spark flicker.

_"Thundercracker!"_ Skywarp shouted over their comm, feeling the mech's collapse. _"What are they doing to you?"_

_Can't let him attack,_ the blue Seeker thought, cooling fans whirring to high speed to compensate for a sudden rise of core temperature. Several systems warned of imminent failure, including his comm._ "It's not the Autobots, 'Warp."_

"How long since you last had energon?" demanded Wheeljack, a white blur in Thundercracker's darkening vision.

Thinking took effort, and the Seeker shuttered his optics, trying to remember his last real refill, not the little sips he had been taking now and then. "An orn or two..."

The scientist's optics widened in shock. _How can he still be functioning?_ "Ironhide, don't just stand there, he's going into stasis lock. Thundercracker! Stay conscious!"

His name was being called, but from a great distance. It was easier to let the pain slip away. The blue mech went limp, and a brief second later Skywarp landed beside his brother, pointing his guns at the Autobots before his transformation had finished.

"What did you do?"

"He needs energon, as do you, and soon," Wheeljack said, already comming the Autobot base. _"Prime, Ratchet, someone, come in."_

Loud music was humming in the background of the reply. _"Hey, 'Jack, what's up?"_

_ "Jazz, we need Skyfire! Send him to these coordinates as fast as you can, I don't care if he's off duty or even recharging. We need Ratchet and as much energon as we can spare, too."_

A calm voice joined the conversation. _"Wheeljack, slow down, what's going on?"_

_ "Ratchet, I've got one mech in stasis and another who's not much better and a third who needs repairs soon or he'll offline."_

_ "Ironhide's the only one who went with you on patrol. Where-"_

_ "I don't have time to explain, Ratchet! Just...tell Skyfire he's not to shoot anyone."_

Another voice, this one quivering with indignation, came over the commlink. _"I don't shoot people without cause, 'Jack."_

_ "You've got cause this time, Skyfire."_

A fourth voice joined the conversation. _"Who are the injured mechs, Wheeljack? Our ETA is fifteen minutes."_

That was a faster response than he'd expected, but Wheeljack wasn't pleased that the person informing him had used the term 'our'. _"Prime, what are you doing there?"_

_ "From the sound of it, you're talking about Decepticons and I'm not sending my best medic alone."_

Wheeljack winced, almost able to hear the clang of a wrench bouncing off some part of his leader's armor.

_"Ironhide's here, there's no need to worry."_

_ "Who is it, Wheeljack?"_

_ "The Seeker trine. Two of them, at least. I'm not sure where Starscream is-"_

_ "Skyfire, hold course. Hold course!"_

_ "Throw me in the brig, Prime, but I'm not helping them. Especially _him._"_

_ "You _will_, Skyfire, if it comes to that. That's an order. Wheeljack, ETA ten minutes. You better have a good explanation for this."_

_ "I do. Thank you, Prime."_ Wheeljack ended the transmission.

"You must be crazy, 'Jack," muttered Ironhide, folding his arms and glaring at the two Seekers. Skywarp was standing over his brother's fallen form, uncertainty and concern filling his red optics. The expression almost unnerved the experienced warrior; he was used to seeing hate in red optics, not worry. He almost felt sorry for the mechs – but that was foolishness. They were the enemy, injured or not.

"They may be Decepticons, but they did ask for help," Wheeljack replied quietly to the unspoken question in the weapons specialist's optics. "I wonder what happened?"

Ironhide shrugged, not caring. "Megatron probably saw sense at last and slagged Starscream."

"It wasn't like that," Skywarp interrupted, tightening his grip on his guns.

"You need to sit down and conserve what little energy you have left," ordered Wheeljack, pointing at the ground. "When Prime gets here, you can explain the situation as you like."

Skywarp almost argued, then he glanced at his unconscious brother and followed the Autobot's orders. He didn't like the fact that Prime himself was coming, but at least the mech could be trusted to listen fairly. Venting air, the Seeker turned his optics toward the distant road, wondering how long it would take the Autobots to arrive.

Not long, it turned out, and Skyfire's arrival almost sent Skywarp running in panic. He knew the white mech well – too well. Once a friend of Starscream's, the gentle scientist had refused the silver Seeker's request that he join the Decepticons and had instead gone to the other side. Since then, their hatred had only grown worse, and Skywarp could not imagine a mech that would be less welcome on a rescue mission for Starscream. Skyfire certainly didn't look pleased once his passengers had disembarked and he transformed, but he kept his mouth shut, allowing Prime to step forward.

Gentle blue optics met frantic red, and Optimus Prime gave a slight inclination of his head. "Skywarp. I hear your trine is in trouble."

Despite himself, the Seeker felt himself relax a little. Granted, Prime was an Autobot and a very dangerous enemy, but despite his regal air he exuded a calmness that Skywarp desperately needed.

"Starscream messed up big time," he said, hanging his head. "But I messed up first."

"Explain," Prime said, waving Ratchet forward. "Ratchet, if you would."

Grumbling, the medic moved toward Thundercracker, his reluctance evident in every move he made. Ironhide stood by his friend, cannons ready to fire if the blue mech so much as twitched the wrong way, stasis lock or not.

Skywarp kept a wary eye on the two Autobots, not liking their proximity to his brother, but Thundercracker needed attention. The purple mech's own systems warned that he wasn't far behind. Prime had asked for an explanation, though, and his help no doubt rested upon this. So, processors racing to jumble things into a somewhat linear account, Skywarp began to talk. He avoided all mention of Jasmine, unsure how the Autobot would react to her presence – unfavorably, no doubt, considering how much he valued the squishies – but he managed to spin a believable tale of Starscream's latest bid to power failing disastrously. "He was already injured from before," Skywarp added, shooting Ironhide a glare. The weapons specialist grinned in response. "But this time it was bad. Really bad." Panic rose again, and Skywarp's voice quivered with it. "Starscream went into stasis lock and we patched what we could but Thundercracker said he needed more energon."

"I don't understand," Prime said. "You should have plenty of energon."

"Primus knows Megatron's stolen enough of it," Ratchet grumbled from behind.

Skywarp shook his head. "Megatron is withholding our share."

"Why does that not surprise me?" The medic's voice was just loud enough to catch, but the purple Seeker managed to restrain himself from retorting. Instead he held still, listening to the seconds tick away while Prime processed the information he had received.

"Some might suggest to me that this is an elaborate trap," Optimus said at last, glancing at Ironhide. "And considering your record, I would be inclined to believe them. However, Thundercracker's status, and yours, speak otherwise."

"So you'll help?" Skywarp didn't try to keep the note of hope, of relief, from his voice.

"Provided you surrender to the Autobots as prisoners of war," Prime replied. "I realize that two of your trine are currently unable to make that decision, so you must speak for them. We cannot simply treat you and send you on your way. You must offer something in exchange."

Skywarp's shoulders slumped. He didn't have a choice, not really, though he shuddered to imagine Starscream's reaction. "Very well," he said. "I will give you what information I possess. However..." His red optics took on a pleading look. "Thundercracker and Starscream should make that decision for themselves."

Optimus Prime hesitated, then gave a short nod. "Very well, though we will still hold you three prisoners regardless of whether you provide intel or not. Ratchet, Ironhide, Wheeljack, we will escort these two back to our base. Skyfire?"

"No." The white mech's response was short and firm. "I refuse."

"You are the only one capable of reaching their base quickly and also the best transport for a wounded mech," Prime said, his voice just as firm. "Do not make me order you, Skyfire."

"Prime, do you realize-"

"More than you know." Optimus vented air. "More than you know, Skyfire, which is why I am _asking_ you to do this favor for me."

Blue optics shuttered, then the white mech gave a short nod. "I will do as you request, Prime." He looked down at Skywarp with disdain. "The coordinates, Seeker?"

Skywarp rattled the numbers off, realizing as he did so just how deep he and his brothers had gotten. If Megatron learned of this, the Seekers would be destroyed. Briefly Skywarp wondered if it was worth it. Then a brief memory of Jasmine's face, the look she had worn when he had returned for her, reminded him just how much the small human meant to him. And to Thundercracker and Starscream as well.

Watching the white jet take off, the purple Seeker wondered if he should have mentioned the human's presence. It was too late now. He would have to take the consequences when they came. Until then, he decided, he would be on his best behavior. Turning to offer his assistance with moving Thundercracker, Skywarp was not prepared to be faced with a medic pointing what looked like a gun at his head.

"Hold on," he protested, raising his hands. "What are you-" The EMP blast sent him crashing to the ground.

"That was unnecessary," Optimus told Ratchet, feeling weary. He understood his fellow Autobots' anger, their vehemence toward the Decepticons. He felt the same way. However, these Seekers had come begging for help, and Prime could not stop himself from feeling a little pity for them. He had no doubt that requesting assistance had been just as difficult for them as granting it had been for himself, but he hoped, as he always did, that differences might yet be reconciled.


	13. Rescue

Here we are again, a little ahead of schedule! However, expect the next update to be late - I leave Monday for internet-less land again.

As always, I express my sincere gratitude for your kind reviews. Thank you for taking the time for sharing your thoughts and comments and criticism of my work. It is all appreciated. Thank you also for faving and following this story. I hope you continue to enjoy the ride!

DISCLAIMER: Haven't mentioned this in a while, but I don't own Transformers.

* * *

Chapter Thirteen

Rescue

Systems onlining, Starscream was not surprised by the amount of errors and warnings that awaited him upon regaining consciousness. He had taken a lot of damage, even for a mech used to being at the wrong end of Megatron's fusion cannon. Adding his new injuries to those he had already sustained was overtaxing his repair functions, and if he didn't get some fresh energon soon, his lines might dry completely.

A soft groan and creak of metal accompanied his neck joints as he turned his head slowly, taking in his surroundings. The familiar walls of his quarters told him where he was, and he was not too surprised to find Jasmine recharging next to his still form. Not wanting to scare the human, who seemed fine physically but had been very distressed when he last laid optics on her, Starscream vented air softly, directing the warm breeze toward the girl.

Twitching preceded the girl's onlining, and as she went through the motions of stretching and yawning that always seemed to follow her recharge cycle, Starscream began running through his systems, shutting down noncritical functions and diverting energon flow to the most important sections. His nannites had managed to seal all the energon leaks, but he needed a fresh infusion of energon.

"Starscream, you're awake!" Jasmine's happy cry drew his attention back to the human, who was gazing at him with bright brown optics, wearing an expression of relief and hope. "Thundercracker and Skywarp went to get more energon. They put what was left from before on your desk." She pointed in the direction of the cube, and Starscream looked over, feeling the pain of systems desperate for fuel.

"Good," he managed to say, struggling to sit up. All his systems felt sluggish, even speaking seemed to take more effort than it was worth, but he did his best to comfort the human, whose relief had been replaced with worry upon seeing his current state. "I am fine, no need to look so concerned. All I need is a little recharge and some energon." Standing was a slow process, and he steadied himself against the berth for a moment before taking a step toward the desk.

"Starscream?" The girl's small voice stopped him in his tracks.

Turning around, Starscream stared down at her, the few sensors he still kept operational noting a slightly elevated pulse. Apparently his previous words had not alleviated her concern. "I told you, I am fine," he repeated, allowing a bit of irritation to show.

Jasmine managed a slight smile. "Could I get down, please?"

Without a word, Starscream held out his hand and waited for the girl to scramble onto his palm. Wincing inwardly at the protest of stiff joints, the Seeker bent and let his passenger disembark on the floor before straightening his frame with several loud cracks. The sharp sounds made Jasmine wince and turn her gaze upwards, but Starscream was already headed for the energon cube. He did not notice that the door to his quarters was open, nor that the human was headed their way at a swift pace, one that would have raised his suspicion had he been in full use of his processors. But every spare synapse was focused on refueling his systems, and Starscream paid no attention as Jasmine left.

Once outside, Jasmine turned left and began to walk down the long hall, trying to keep her footsteps as quiet as possible. In his current state there wasn't much Starscream could do about her wandering around, especially once he had ingested the energon spiked with tranquilizer, but the girl still wanted to put some distance between herself and the injured mech. She had a good feeling that he would not be pleased if he noticed the sedative and realized she had not warned him of it, but Thundercracker had thought it best for Starscream to rest until his brothers returned.

_He's going to be okay_, Jasmine told herself, turning around a corner. _I'll wait until he falls back into recharge, then-_ She never finished that thought, confronted by an unexpected sight that first stopped her in her tracks, then sent the girl scrambling for cover.

* * *

Searching a Decepticon base for his least favorite mech was not Skyfire's idea of a good day. The Autobot grumbled under his breath as he walked down what felt like miles of corridors that didn't seem to lead anywhere.

"No sign of life, not even a cleaning bot." Shaking his head, the white mech took yet another right turn. "You'd think they'd at least have maintenance droids in this section."

A quiet noise caught his attention only because it was a sound in what had until then been stillness except for his footsteps. Pausing, the Autobot ran a quick scan and found a small heat source around the next corner. Several quick strides brought him to the end of the hall and he found himself facing a human, who looked more surprised than scared. What was an earth creature doing in this place? He took a step toward it and froze when fear flickered across its face. With a sigh he knelt, hoping to seem a little less scary to the smaller being.

"I'm not going to harm you," he told it. "What's your name?"

"You're not a Seeker," the human said, a statement rather than a question. "Why are you here?"

"I could ask you the same."

"My family lives here." Pointing at his chest, the human added, "What does that symbol mean?"

"This?" Skyfire indicated his Autobot insignia, earning a short nod from the organic. "It tells others that I'm an Autobot."

The human gasped, spun around, and fled. Startled by its reaction, the mech reacted slower than usual, but still managed to catch the small creature before it had gotten far.

"Don't be afraid," he said, scans detecting high levels of stress as he stood, the little organic held in his cupped hands. "The Decepticons can't hurt you anymore. Where are your creators?" By now he was certain the human was a female, and young. _Primus, what use could the 'Cons have for her? Or any human, much less a family of them?_

She frowned. "Creators?"

"Your parents, I mean."

The human's nose wrinkled. "I don't know and I don't care."

Skyfire hesitated, confused. "You said you live here with your family."

"I do. I'm a Seeker. Starscream said so."

It took all of Skyfire's willpower not to drop the human and run. He vented air. "Sorry, I think I heard you wrong."

She gave him a quizzical look. "Do you have blockage in your audio receptors?"

"No. Please repeat that."

"Do you-"

"Not _that_, what you said before."

"I'm a Seeker," the human said slowly, drawing out each word like she was speaking to a sparkling. It annoyed the Autobot, since she couldn't be much past the human sparkling stage while he was probably older than her entire race, but the content of her message was more important at the moment than the way of delivery.

"You're a human, not a Seeker."

"Just because I don't look it doesn't mean I'm not."

"Scans confirm you are completely human."

"I'm an _honorary_ Seeker." The human narrowed her eyes. "You still haven't answered my question, why are you here? Autobots aren't allowed on base."

"I don't know why the Decepticons are keeping you here, but there's no way they would make a human a Seeker, honorary or not. They hate humans."

"No they don't!" The human jumped to her feet, voice rising in her sudden fury. "They take care of me and they saved me from the Sanderses and Megatron and-"

Taken aback, Skyfire kept his mouth shut, waiting for the storm to disperse. When the human finally fell silent, still glaring at him, he started walking down the hall.

"Maybe they brainwashed you, because I can't see Starscream risking his life for a human, especially when Megatron's involved." He turned a corner and found himself facing the business end of a gun that was all too familiar, Starscream's null ray.

The silver mech was bracing himself against the nearest wall with his other hand, but stood firmly in Skyfire's path. "You must be suffering from the human disease of myopia, then. Put Jasmine down. I won't ask you again."

"From Skywarp's description and my current visual perception, there's no way you could fire that gun right now without draining your energy past a critical line," replied the Autobot, not moving an inch. "Lower your weapon."

"A Seeker protects his trine above all other things, including himself."

"Starscream?" The human, Jasmine, peeked through Skyfire's fingers. "You're supposed to be in recharge."

The Seeker's optics swept over her small form, and Skyfire almost believed he could see relief in the other mech's expression upon seeing the human unharmed. Then Starscream narrowed his gaze and the hint of concern vanished beneath his normal annoyance. "I suppose you knew that Thundercracker spiked the energon with tranquilizer."

She nodded.

"Fortunately, I thought to scan it. We will discuss that matter later. Right now I've got an Autobot to dispose of."

Skyfire scowled. "Lower your weapon, Starscream, I'm not here to fight. Prime sent me to find you, since Thundercracker needed immediate medical attention."

"What did you slaggers do to him?" Starscream yelled, red optics blazing with anger.

"He went into stasis lock without any aid from us. 'Jack said something about energon deprivation."

Like a human puppet with broken strings, the Seeker slumped against the wall. "I should have stopped them, I knew what they were doing. Might as well offline me and get it over with, Autobot scum."

"Sorry, but my orders are to bring you back to base still functioning."

"Then as a display of your goodwill," Starscream said with a slight hint of sarcasm, "put Jasmine down. She's terrified."

The human's heart rate was much higher than normal, but Skyfire wasn't sure if it was himself or the Seeker who was causing her distress. "And let you use her as a hostage?"

"First of all, she's only a child, and wouldn't make a good hostage. Second, as she has probably already told you, she's a member of my trine. As such, she is under my protection. Third, if anyone harmed her, even myself, Skywarp would have that mech's aft."

"Why didn't Skywarp mention her, then?"

"No one's supposed to know about me," Jasmine said, tapping Skyfire's hand with her foot for attention. "Though most of the other Decepticons probably know after the fight with Megatron."

"Not likely," Starscream muttered. "He doesn't let word get around of his defeats if he can help it."

Ignoring him, the girl continued to address Skyfire. "If you're here to help, can we please leave soon? Starscream's really sick."

"No reason to inform _him_ of that fact," complained the Seeker.

Skyfire vented air. "I knew that before I arrived here, though a half-blind sparkling would be hard-pressed to miss your injuries on visual contact. Thundercracker actually asked for our help, and Prime, for some reason, agreed."

"I can see that made you happy," the silver mech said sardonically. "I suppose I have no choice."

"Not really," the Autobot agreed. "I have permission to knock you out if necessary. But if you are willing to come voluntarily, let's head out. The sooner we are there, the better."

"The front door is this way." Starscream raised one hand to point down the hall, then grimaced and doubled over.

Despite himself, the Autobot felt a stab of worry for his former friend. "Better lean on me until we get outside."

"I don't need help from you," growled the Seeker, taking a step forward and almost collapsing.

"Well, I don't want to carry your senseless chassis through two hundred miles of corridor," Skyfire retorted, grabbing the Seeker's right arm with his free hand. "Show me the way out."

"I can do that," Jasmine said, pointing at the floor. "Put me down, please."

"All right." The white mech placed his hand on the floor and watched her climb off, then head down the corridor at a brisk pace, for a human. "Can you go any faster?"

Jasmine broke into a run and kept up the speed until they reached the entrance less than a breem later. Breathing hard, she leaned on the wall, looking up at the two mechs. Skyfire was half-carrying the semiconscious Starscream, who continued to mumble protests that the other two ignored.

"Stand here for a moment," Skyfire said, shoving the silver mech against the wall Jasmine wasn't standing next to. The Autobot stepped outside and swept the area with a few quick scans. No sign of any life, organic or Cybertronian, so he transformed and transmitted to Starscream, _"Time to go."_

_ "We're coming."_

From his position on the runway, Skyfire watched the Decepticon bend down, and for a brief moment wondered if it had all been a trick, then relaxed when Starscream stepped outside, holding the human in cupped hands. It seemed the Decepticon was sincere about keeping her safe.

Starscream stumbled on the ramp but made it inside, and once the silver mech was sitting down, Skyfire took off. He kept an optic on the sky, watching for a possible ambush, and watched his occupants with the other, letting guidance systems take over his flight.

_"If you can handle it, there's a case of energon near you,"_ Skyfire told the Decepticon, who gave a short nod, but didn't move. His optics were dim, not a good sign.

_"Ratchet said you better not go into stasis lock, so unless you want wrench dents in your helm, keep functioning."_

_ "Do you have a place for humans to sit?"_ Starscream sent, sounding stiff even over the comm link.

_"At the moment, only in my cockpit. I remove the seats when I'm only carting Autobots around. Or half-scrapped Decepticons."_

"Jasmine, I need you to sit up front until we land," Starscream told the human, waiting for her to complain.

She simply nodded and climbed off his hand.

"Something wrong?" he asked, frowning. The girl seemed quieter than usual.

"No. Yes." Jasmine's face crumpled and she flung her arms around his nearest claw, it being the only thing in reach. "Please don't die, Starscream."

How could such a small being make his spark pulse so strongly with the desire to protect? Not knowing the answer to that question did not change his feelings, and Starscream hurried to reassure the distraught human. "I'm not going to offline. Get up front and buckle in, Skywarp will be angry if you get hurt flying without him."

"Okay." The girl sniffed and rubbed her face with the back of a hand, then walked toward Skyfire's tail.

"Jasmine, other direction."

"Oh."

At the cockpit door, Jasmine waited, unsure if she should knock. It slid open without warning and she flinched back, startled by the sight of a man sitting in the pilot's seat.

"Relax, it's only a hologram," Skyfire said, making the image flicker. "See?"

"Why do you have it on?" Sliding into the copilot's seat, Jasmine was not surprised when the belt snapped into place before she even reached for it.

"Prime's orders."

"Who's Prime?"

"Prime is...hard to explain. He's our leader. You will probably meet him when we land."

"Is he the one who hurt Starscream?"

"Usually when we fight Decepticons, he is busy holding off Megatron, but it might have been. I don't know. I've only been on Earth for a couple of orns."

"Why do you hate him?"

The question startled Skyfire. "Who, Prime? Why would you think-"

"Starscream!" the human interrupted, exasperated.

"That's none of your concern."

"But why do you want to hurt him and Skywarp and Thundercracker?"

"Ask your family."

Jasmine didn't seem to notice the sarcasm. "I did. They wouldn't tell me."

"Did you ever consider that might be because they are the villains in this war and they don't want their pet human to think badly of them?"

The girl's eyes flashed and she kicked the dashboard. "I'm not a pet! You're lying. The good guys wouldn't hurt someone the way Starscream is hurt."

"Unless the person being hurt was the bad guy."

"That's not true," Jasmine said, voice trembling, not with uncertainty as the Autobot might have expected, but with anger.

"They may have protected you from Megatron, but they do work for him, and I don't think even you could imagine _he's_ on the side of good."

"Skywarp said they had no choice," muttered Jasmine, looking down at her clenched hands.

"Every mech has a choice, and I wouldn't believe everything Skywarp says, he's not the smartest of the trine." Skyfire winced as the human pulled her leg back. "Don't kick the dashboard, it hurts."

The girl slumped in her seat. "Sorry," she said, not sounding sorry, then twisted around, gazing at the closed door. "Is he okay?"

"Still functioning."

Jasmine propped her chin on a fist and stared out the windshield, wondering how long it would take to get to the base. She wasn't about to ask, not after the comment he'd made about Skywarp. However, another question popped out before she could stop it.

"What's your name?"

"Skyfire. I apologize for not introducing myself sooner."

"I've got a question, Skyfire."

"What is it?" he asked with as much patience as he could muster from his already well-drained reserves.

"You're helping us, so you can't be the bad guys."

"Is that your question?"

"No. This is. If you aren't the bad guys, then the Decepticons are, but if that's true, why would they take me in?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure there's a good explanation." _One I would definitely like to know. "Starscream, why was this human even at your base?"_

_ "I thought we explained that already."_

_ "Yes, I understand you made her a Seeker, but what about before? Did Megatron know you were keeping a human on base? Surely he wouldn't allow such a thing after what happened with the Witwicky boy."_

Starscream sounded tired, like he'd explained the reason before, more than once. _"Megatron did not know of Jasmine's presence until yesterday. That base is under my jurisdiction, and I decide what is allowed. Megatron and I had a slight disagreement about that, and the result is as you see."_

If the silver mech's tone was anything to go by, Starsceam didn't want to speak further about the issue. Skyfire made a mental note to question Skywarp or Thundercracker about the matter later, and dropped the subject. _"ETA is half an hour. I suggest recharging until we arrive."_

_ "I don't need you to tell me what to do."_

_ "It was a suggestion, not an order."_

The Seeker didn't respond to that, but his engines quieted, spark settling to a steady pulse as he fell into recharge. Satisfied that the Decepticon wouldn't give him any more trouble until they reached base, Skyfire settled on a swift but stable speed that would get them to the base as soon as possible. The sooner both his passengers got off, the better. _What am I supposed to tell Prime about the human?_ he wondered, a question that kept his processor busy for the rest of the short flight. Skywarp had gone through great lengths to keep her presence a secret, for obvious reasons – the presence of a human in such a dangerous environment would definitely anger the Autobot leader, whether or not the Seekers actually meant what they said about the girl being a part of their trine. _I still think it's a trick_, Skyfire told himself, but even in his head, his voice sounded a little less sure than it had been a few breems ago. Starscream had never been one to seek pain, and although some of the injuries he bore could have been from his last entanglement with the Autobots, most were far more recent.


	14. Safe

This chapter took forever to come into existence. My muse just wasn't with me on this one. I hope the final result is satisfactory.

I leave for college in six days. While I will attempt to keep a semi-regular updating schedule during the school year, I cannot make any promises.

Many thanks to all you wonderful readers! I appreciate your faves, your follows, and most especially your reviews. You have my gratitude and I hope to have your continued support as I keep trekking down the never-ending path of being a writer...

* * *

Chapter 14

Safe

Skyfire sent a confirmation signal after receiving his landing instructions from the human air traffic control tower, then banked and came at the runway on a gentle slope. His passengers were both in recharge. Though he expected Starscream would online upon landing, the human might sleep through a little jostling. Perhaps it would be better to wake her beforehand, so she had a few minutes to prepare before meeting their welcoming party. After a moment's debate, Skyfire gave the girl's safety harness a slight squeeze, hoping it would stir the girl from her slumber. It did, but not in the manner he expected.

Feeling the sudden tightness around her torso, Jasmine came awake fighting, her fists flailing about to find purchase on something more solid than air. A few kicks landed against the control panel before the girl realized where she was. Eyes wide, she took a deep breath, then let it out all at once. Slumping in her seat, Jasmine gasped, "Sorry, Skyfire, did I hurt you?"

"I am fine. Are you all right?" The white mech made a mental note to find a different way of waking humans in the future, one that was less stressful – and less painful.

"Just had a bad dream. Thought I was back at the orphanage." With a small shudder, the girl leaned forward to peer out of the cockpit. "Is that an airport?"

"Yes and no. It is the landing strip of the NEST base," Skyfire replied. "The building to our left is the traffic control tower. I just received permission to land, and thought you might like to watch."

"I've landed before with Skywarp," Jasmine said, shrugging, though she continued to crane her neck in order to watch the wide landing strip come ever closer. "Is Starscream awake?"

"Recharge," Skyfire said, half-wishing the other mech had stayed online. Ratchet would not be pleased. Not that Skyfire saw it as his own fault, since he had been flying and not in the position to do anything to stop Starscream from dropping into recharge. At least it wasn't stasis lock. He had done a few quick scans to ensure that, knowing Ratchet would have his aft otherwise.

Ratchet commed him as he extended his landing gear. _"Skyfire, due to a slight delay, I will be at the landing site in two minutes. Maintain position."_

_ "Yes, Ratchet."_ The landing was gentle, barely a bump as he touched the ground and coasted to a stop near the base hangar. Now that he was grounded he felt the urge to transform, but the white mech held his systems in check. Starscream was still in recharge, so he pinged the mech, hoping to wake him before the medic arrived. No response. "Jasmine, do you want to check on Starscream?"

The girl began to struggle with her harness. "Yes, please!"

Skyfire released the restraints and opened the door to the cargo hold. Seconds later the girl dashed out, almost sliding on the floor in her impatience.

"Starscream!" she called, running to the silver Seeker and tapping on his leg with a loosely made fist. "Starscream, time to wake up, we're here."

Sensors picked up the minute signs of a mech's systems coming online, too slowly for Skyfire's comfort. Outside sensors warned of Ratchet's swift approach. Silently thanking Starscream for returning to consciousness just in time, Skyfire lowered the loading ramp. _"Watch out for the human,"_ he warned Ratchet, suddenly concerned for the small organic being overlooked in the medic's haste.

Ratchet skidded to a stop and transformed from his altmode. "What human?" he demanded aloud, as several other Autobots arrived – the belated welcoming party Skyfire had been expecting. Ironhide, Prime and Prowl stood guard in case Starscream tried something. All looked surprised by the medic's outburst.

"Skyfire?" Optimus said, stepping forward. "I was unaware that a soldier accompanied you. That was a dangerous oversight on my part."

"Actually, she's not from NEST," Skyfire said, watching Ratchet head up his loading ramp toward the injured mech. "The trine was keeping a human youngling on their base."

Ironhide's eyes narrowed and Prowl's doorwings twitched. Prime maintained his normal countenance of calm, though he asked for confirmation, just in case his audio receptors had processed wrong. "They were keeping a child on their base?"

"This is a matter they should have mentioned," Prowl said.

"Later," Prime said. "Let them rest." Switching to comm, he contacted the medic. _"Do you require assistance, Ratchet?"_

Ratchet's answer was the terse one of someone who did not want to be interrupted. _"Not yet."_ The medic was still taking in the scene before him – a small human cowering beside a mech still half in recharge but attempting to shield the girl with his hand. Whining systems protested Starscream's every move, and his red optics watched Ratchet warily.

"Relax," said the medic, raising his hands before his chest. "I have orders to haul your aft to medbay for repairs and refueling, not dismantling, however tempting that might be." He hesitated, expecting a snarky response from the Seeker.

What he received instead was a sudden cry from the human. "Leave him alone!" Bristling with fury, the human scrambled to the top of Starscream's hand, somehow not injuring herself on his sharp claws. Drawing herself to her full but not very considerable height, the girl all but screamed, "Starscream is hurt, I won't let you hurt him more, so you better back off or I'll-"

"Enough, Jasmine," Starscream said, tilting his hand just enough that the girl tumbled gently into his palm, silencing her outburst by knocking the wind out of her lungs. The Decepticon turned weary optics toward Ratchet. "How far is your medbay, Autobot?"

"Far enough that you will need to walk or be carried," Ratchet said, already running preliminary scans. "Carried," he confirmed a second later. "You are lucky to be online. Ironhide! Prime!" he shouted to the mechs waiting outside. "Give me a hand in here." Turning back, he held out his own hand. "Jasmine, was it? You better come with me. The human doctor will want to check you over."

"No." The human folded her arms and raised her chin. "I'm staying with Starscream. He needs me."

"Right now I need a peaceful recharge cycle," Starscream said, dumping the girl into the medic's hand. "Behave and I will see you soon."

"Starscream!" Jasmine shrieked and lunged toward the silver mech, but Ratchet adjusted the angle of his palm and the girl landed in a heap against his upcurled fingers. "Starscream! Please don't let them take me away, I don't want to leave-"

Starscream dulled his audio receptors until the medic had moved out of the cargo hold. By then Ironhide and Prime had arrived as summoned and helped the Seeker to his feet. He was not surprised when the weapons specialist was a little rougher than necessary, but the pain kept him focused on moving one foot in front of the other. Ratchet joined them a moment later, having sent Prowl off with Jasmine.

"Careful, his injuries are severe and I don't want those energon lines reopening," the medic said, watching his helpers' movements for misstep. Once they had cleared the loading ramp, Ratchet signaled Skyfire, who transformed at once.

"Do you require my further assistance?" asked the white mech, expecting confirmation but hoping for dismissal. His wish was granted by Ratchet, who waved him away.

"Refuel, then report to my office for debriefing," Prime called over his shoulder, and Skyfire nodded in response before walking away. He could still hear Starscream's hissed complaints when he reached the building that served as the mechs' rec room. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker descended upon him with questions before he had even reached the energon stacked against the far wall.

"Did you really bring Starscream back to base?"

"Were there hundreds of Cons waiting in ambush for you?"

"Did you have to fight your way out?"

"Did Starscream put up a fight?"

"Was he unconscious when you found him?"

"Were you tempted to offline him?"

Prowl saved him from having to answer any questions by entering the rec room just then. "Enough," said the Autobot SIC. "Sunstreaker, you should be on guard duty right now, and this is your recharge cycle, Sideswipe, don't waste it." The twins raced away, and the black and white mech turned to Skyfire. "Prime would like to see you in a few breems."

"Understood." Skyfire offered the other mech an energon cube, but it was waved away.

"Still on duty," Prowl said, and headed off to deal with the next item on his never-ending list.

Finishing his energon in a few gulps, Skyfire placed the empty container with the others waiting to be refilled and headed for Prime's office. He walked in to find it much the same as always. A small room - by Cybertronian standards – with a mech-sized desk and chair piled high with datapads and paper in equal proportions.

"The human government continues to impede our progress in any way possible," Skyfire noted, moving to stand before the desk.

Optimus stood as well, in order to see the mech he spoke with. "Unfortunately." He vented air. "Skyfire, where did the human come from? Did she say anything whatsoever on your journey here? What were the conditions she was kept in on the Decepticon base?"

"I do not know her origins, but she seems to believe the Seekers saved her. From what or how I am not sure – she babbled quite a bit for a while. When I arrived I found her wandering alone on their base, but we ran into Starscream not long after. He was in bad shape but seemed to have dragged himself out of hiding to find the girl. Despite his condition he threatened me should I harm her."

Prime vented air again, then shook his head. "Of all the Autobots, you perhaps knew Starscream best, no matter how long ago that was. Could this be a trick, some twisted plan of his and Megatron's?"

Much as Skyfire wanted to believe it was, he had seen the look in Starscream's optics back in the Decepticon base. It was a look he had not seen there for a very long time. He shook his head. "No. He meant to protect her with his life, Prime."

"Very well. Until this matter is resolved, the trine will remain here, under our protection, but as prisoners. I would like you to serve as primary escort."

"I respectfully request that this assignment be given to another mech," Skyfire said, voice tight. Babysitting Starscream and his brothers was the last thing he wanted to do.

"Request denied," Optimus said, with just a hint of disappointment in his voice. More than enough to make Skyfire's wings droop a little and withhold any further protests. "Dismissed."

"Sir." Skyfire walked out, letting the office door shut behind him before he vented air as forcefully as possible. He understood Prime's reasoning behind the matter – as the only Autobot capable of flight currently around, Skyfire was the best choice to guard three winged Seekers. That did not mean he had to like the task. It just meant he had to do as commanded. Deciding the best way to start would be to know where the mechs in question were, Skyfire commed the medic. _"Ratchet, what is the status of your Decepticon patients?"_ No response came within a reasonable time frame, and Skyfire picked up his pace, wondering what could prevent the medic from replying to a simple inquiry. Part of his spark still insisted this was all an elaborate trap, and Skyfire's weapons systems were almost online when he burst into the medbay.

Ratchet looked up from his work with a heavy scowl. Had he been holding one of his infamous wrenches, Skyfire had no doubt that he would have been ducking for his life. "What are you doing in medbay?" demanded the medic in a tone that told the white mech his reason had better be a life or death situation.

"You failed to respond to my comm," Skyfire said, backpedaling at once. In this mood Ratchet had been known to throw whatever he had handy at the time, and Skyfire did not want sharp scalpels directed toward him. In the air he had no problem dodging projectiles. Enclosed space was a different matter entirely.

"Considering that you were the one to bring this mech in here in his current state, I would expect your processors to be capable of hypothesizing that perhaps I did not respond because I was busy with emergency repair work." Ratchet resumed his work, still scowling. "A sparkling could take him down in this condition, anyway."

"Where are the other Seekers?" Skyfire asked, deciding they would be his best chance at avoiding the medic while still following orders.

"Brig, both recharging. Don't disturb them unless you want to join them. If you need something to do, go check on the human, I heard some odd sounds coming from the human medbay not too long ago."

"She was little more than a sparkling, I doubt they could be having trouble," Skyfire said, but a sharp glare sent him on his way with all available speed toward any space not also occupied by the medic.

Looking down at the mech before him, currently in a medic-induced stasis lock, Ratchet shook his head. Though stabilized at last, Starscream's condition remained deplorable. Between his old wounds and the newly inflicted ones, the mech was lucky to be online. More than lucky. Either Primus himself had intervened, or the cowardly Seeker was tougher than he appeared.

_Not that that would take much,_ Ratchet mused, recalling all the times Starscream had run from a battle when things began to go wrong. The medic could not help but wonder who would have inflicted so much pain upon a mech without offlining the victim. Definitely a Decepticon, no Autobot would torture another in such a manner, not even Ironhide or Sunstreaker in their berserker rage. Megatron was the most likely cause, though Ratchet wasn't sure why the Decepticon hadn't just finished the job. Perhaps he still needed Starscream functioning, or wanted to give the mech a slow and excruciatingly painful death. Probably the latter, knowing the Decepticon leader.

"Prime's too soft," Ratchet muttered at the prone form, knowing Starscream could neither hear him nor respond. "Saving you is going to cause us a lot of trouble when Megatron gets wind of it, and there is nothing stopping you from turning around and stabbing us in the back. Be easier just to let you die." _But Optimus would never allow it. To be honest, neither would my medical programming._ With a brisk shake of his head, Ratchet adjusted his grip on the medical tool he currently wielded. "You better watch your own back," he muttered, sliding back a panel of armor in order to reach yet another roughly patched energon line. "Because if this is another infernal trick of yours, it will be your last."

* * *

When the black and white mech – Prowl? – deposited her in the hands of the human doctor and several accompanying nurses, Jasmine had been led against her will to the base hospital for a thorough checkup. Fighting every step of the way, the girl managed to get a few good blows in before she found herself on an examination table with one nurse shining a bright light in her eyes while the others stood by.

"Pupil dilation normal," said the nurse, setting down the flashlight. She picked up a flat wooden stick. "Say 'ahhhhh'," she coaxed.

Teeth clenched shut, Jasmine stubbornly shook her head. She wanted to demand to be taken to Starscream at once, or to Thundercracker and Skywarp – they were here, too, weren't they? – but opening her mouth would give the nurse a chance to strike. In protest of her treatment, she folded her arms and shook her head again.

After a few more attempts to convince the girl to cooperate, the nurse turned to her companions, complaining, "You could give me a hand. We don't have all day."

"The sooner we're done with you, the sooner you can go back to your friends," the doctor told Jasmine, making a few notes on the clipboard he held. He glanced up, meeting the scowl directed his way with a smile. "We aren't going to hurt you, kid, we just want to make sure you aren't sick or injured."

"I'm fine," Jasmine snapped. "Let me out of here."

"Wood, Rhodes, give Miller a hand," he said, tucking his pen into one of the many pockets on his lab coat. "Don't forget a blood sample in case of energon poisoning. Have someone take her down to the mess hall for a hot meal once you're done, she's probably hungry. Room 14 should be free if she wants a nap. Paperwork on my desk this evening, as usual." Pausing in the doorway the doctor added, "By the way, kid, I didn't quite catch your name?"

"Jasmine," she muttered.

"Your last name?" he prompted.

"Don't have one."

The doctor and nurses shared an unreadable look. "My name is Dr. Davis," the man said finally. "If there's anything you need, please ask the nurses. You aren't diabetic, are you?"

She shook her head. Some of the kids in the orphanage had had diabetes and she remembered being horrified by all that entailed, from strict meals to daily injections. Except for her meat allergy, there was nothing wrong with her, as far as she knew.

"Good," the doctor said. "Well, carry on." He shut the door and Jasmine could hear footsteps receding down the corridor.

The three nurses shared another look, then turned their eyes toward the girl.

"This can be done quickly," said the first nurse, picking up a syringe, "or slowly, but you aren't leaving this room until we're satisfied you are healthy and not carrying any foreign diseases."

"Then I can see my family?" Jasmine demanded.

"Once you tell us where they live, yes," said a second nurse, her voice gentle. "Until then you will stay here."

"They _are_ here," Jasmine said, pulling her arm away when Nurse Miller tried to take hold of it. "I want to see Skywarp. And Thundercracker."

"After your checkup is finished." Miller shot her companions a sharp glance, warning them not to protest. Better to get this over and done as soon as possible. She hated dealing with kids. Soldiers, adults, you could reason with them, but there were times when kids simply refused to listen. Like this one. As a nurse, not really part of the military operation beyond patching up soldiers when they came back injured, Miller had only heard rumors of their latest engagement, but she knew there were three bad mechs currently being held in the Autobot's version of prison. Since she didn't recognize the names the girl kept spouting at every opportunity, they had to be those mechs. Which fit with the little information Prowl had given them upon dropping off the human, namely that she had been a prisoner and should be cared for accordingly. Which included not letting the girl anywhere near her former captors.

"But I want to see them _now_," Jasmine insisted, eyes narrowing. She didn't trust this woman at all, but it looked like she would have to do as they asked if she wanted a chance to escape. Sighing, the girl bit back further protests and held out her arm to the nurse. "Hurry up. Please," she added belatedly.

"That's better," Miller said, and drew the blood sample. Wood took it and left, trusting Rhodes could provide sufficient backup should their patient turn recalcitrant again. There was no need to worry. Jasmine was the picture of innocence for the next few minutes. Once her examination was finished, Miller went to find Wood, leaving Rhodes to escort the girl to the mess hall.

As they walked along, Jasmine's eyes darted from side to side, taking in every inch of the halls they walked down. She even looked up at the ceiling, which seemed far too low to her, being made for human passage, not Cybertronian. After accepting the Decepticon base as her home and learning the corridors there almost by heart, the girl felt claustrophobic in this unfamiliar territory. She did her best to hide it, though, and waited for an opportunity to make her escape. It came as they left the hospital building and headed toward the mess hall. Rhodes was greeted by a passing soldier and she paused mid-step to return the favor, taking her eyes off Jasmine for one crucial second.

Without knowing where to go, there was little Jasmine could do but choose a direction at random, but she refused to spend another moment in the custody of adults who refused to listen. The girl took off across the compound at full speed, ignoring the shouts that immediately followed her.

"Hey, wait!" Rhodes cried, realizing her mistake too late to grab the girl.

"Watch out," called the soldier, seeing the danger before Rhodes or even Jasmine did.

THUNK! Jasmine ran blindly into a tall white object moving in the opposite direction. She bounced off and landed on the ground with a thud, knocking the wind from her lungs. "Owww..."

Rhodes caught up while the girl was still trying to catch her breath, and grabbed Jasmine's wrist tightly. "Don't run off, it's dangerous." She shot a glare at the mech standing over them, still as a statue since Jasmine's attempt to pass through his very solid foot. "Watch where you're walking," the nurse scolded. "Someone could have been seriously hurt."

"Let me go!" Jasmine protested, twisting in the woman's grip. "You're hurting me."

Skyfire would normally never interfere with the humans, but the girl had asked for help, and he did not like this woman at all. With a twitch of his wings he demanded, "Let the girl go."

Rhodes's dark look intensified. "This child is a patient of mine, mech! You can't order me around."

"But I can," said the soldier, who had been standing back a step, watching the exchange. "There's no reason to manhandle the kid, let her go. Now."

Scowling, Rhodes released Jasmine's arm. "Come along, Jasmine, and we'll find you something good to eat."

"No, I don't want to go anywhere with you," Jasmine said, taking a step back.

Without knowing why, Skyfire crouched and offered his hand to the girl. She scrambled on without hesitation, holding onto a finger for support as he rose to his normal height.

"Skyfire, you be careful with her, kids are a lot less durable than soldiers," the soldier warned.

"Do not worry, Major Lennox, I will be cautious."

"Where are you taking her?"

"I have duties in the brig," Skyfire said. "She may accompany me if she likes."

"Yes, please," Jasmine said immediately, settling down on his palm before leaning over the edge to call down, "Thank you, Major Lennox!"

"You can call me Will," the man replied with a smile. "Looks like she's happy to stick with you for a while, Skyfire, so carry on. If she needs anything and you can't leave your post, just give me a shout on the radio and I'll send someone over."

"Thank you." Skyfire left the major to deal with Rhodes, who had stood open-mouthed during their entire exchange, and headed for the brig. Once they were a good distance away from the other humans, he looked down at the human in his hand. "What happened?"

"They gave me a checkup but they weren't really nice," Jasmine said. "And they told me they'd take me to see Skywarp and Thundercracker afterwards but instead that lady wanted to take me to the mess hall. I'm not hungry-" her stomach growled, as if in protest, but they both ignored it "-and I really want to see Skywarp and Thundercracker."

Skyfire pushed open the brig door. "Unfortunately, they are imprisoned right now, but I think a visitor will be allowed." He made his way through the other door to the holding cells, where the Seekers were waiting in separate cells, both in recharge. The bars were wide enough for a human to slip through, so Skyfire deactivated the EM field enveloping the two cells, then set Jasmine down. "I will be just outside the door," he said. "Call me when you wish to leave. They are both in deep recharge so might not wake." Just in case, though, he sat down before the monitoring system in the front room so he could keep an eye on all three present.

Jasmine peered into Skywarp's cell, then Thundercracker's, before moving into Skywarp's where she immediately curled up on the mech's hand and fell asleep. Skyfire shook his head. He still could not believe how trusting this tiny human was of the three Seekers. Even Starscream's strange attachment to her would have been unbelievable if the white mech had not seen proof before his optics. Guessing that the three would be in recharge for some time, he settled himself with a few datapads and began working, keeping one optic on the video feed at all times.


End file.
